--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact that millions of people share…" description: "\"The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the erro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/erich-fromm-367_character_the-fact-that-millions-of-people-share-t_2551937.jpg" --- # The fact that millions of people share the same vices does… ![“The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane.” quote by Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/erich-fromm-367_character_the-fact-that-millions-of-people-share-t_2551937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/erich-fromm-367_character_the-fact-that-millions-of-people-share-t_2551937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/erich-fromm-367_character_the-fact-that-millions-of-people-share-t_2551937.jpg) > “The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane.” [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Popularity of harmful habits or beliefs does not validate them; truth isn’t determined by majority. **In simple terms:** Many people doing something doesn’t make it right. Key Takeaway Question the consensus, seek independent truth. Themes critical thinking ethics psychology Mood skeptical reflective Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political discourse - media consumption - personal relationships - public policy Key Concepts social conformity truth validation mental health Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify truth beyond popular opinion? - When might majority opinion be trustworthy? A Different Perspective Consensus can be misleading when evidence is lacking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychoanalytic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychoanalytic/) [Psychopathology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychopathology/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [I can't expect others to share my virtues. It's good enough for me if they share my vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-can-t-expect-others-to-share-my-virtues-it-s-good-enough-for-me-if/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [That millions of people share the same forms of mental pathology does not make these people sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/that-millions-of-people-share-the-same-forms-of-mental-pathology-does/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Music keeps people sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoot-sims/music-keeps-people-sane/) [Zoot Sims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoot-sims/) > [Golf has probably kept more people sane than psychiatrists have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-penick/golf-has-probably-kept-more-people-sane-than-psychiatrists-have/) [Harvey Penick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-penick/) > [“Better to believe that sane people were sane and crazy people were crazy and you could put the two types of people on opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/better-to-believe-that-sane-people-were-sane-and-crazy-people-were/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [We want a few mad people now. See where the sane ones have landed us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/we-want-a-few-mad-people-now-see-where-the-sane-ones-have-landed-us/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“All things being equal, he preferred to do business with people who were sane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-quick/all-things-being-equal-he-preferred-to-do-business-with-people-who/) [Amanda Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-quick/) > [It's a lot harder to convince people you're sane than it is to convince them you're crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-convince-people-you-re-sane-than-it-is-to/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [The difference between mad people and sane people... is that sane people have variety when they talk-story. Mad people have only one story that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/the-difference-between-mad-people-and-sane-people-is-that-sane-people/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [I think in public, people are much more sane than on the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-elordi/i-think-in-public-people-are-much-more-sane-than-on-the-internet/) [Jacob Elordi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-elordi/) > [The vital function that pets fulfill in this world hasn't been fully recognized. They keep millions of people sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-vital-function-that-pets-fulfill-in-this-world-hasn-t-been-fully/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Chess is not something that drives people mad; it is something that keeps mad people sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hartston/chess-is-not-something-that-drives-people-mad-it-is-something-that/) William Hartston > [“Mass delusion is the only thing that keeps a people sane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/mass-delusion-is-the-only-thing-that-keeps-a-people-sane/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [If there wasn't a God we would have to invent one to keep people sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/if-there-wasn-t-a-god-we-would-have-to-invent-one-to-keep-people-sane/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [People are mostly sane enough, of course, in the affairs of common life: the getting of food, shelter, and so on. But the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/people-are-mostly-sane-enough-of-course-in-the-affairs-of-common-life/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) ## More by Erich Fromm > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Only when man succeeds in developing his reason and love further than he has done so far, only when he can build a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/only-when-man-succeeds-in-developing-his-reason-and-love-further-than/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Freedom does not mean license.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/freedom-does-not-mean-license/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“It is hardly necessary to stress the fact that the ability to love as an act of giving depends on the character development of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/it-is-hardly-necessary-to-stress-the-fact-that-the-ability-to-love-as/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pace-of-science-forces-the-pace-of-technique-theoretical-physics/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Well-being is possible to the degree to which one has overcome one's narcissism; to the degree to which one is open, responsive, sensitive, awake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/well-being-is-possible-to-the-degree-to-which-one-has-overcome-one-s/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The wealth of data to be found in social and political life. The belief that people do not want to make sacrifices is notoriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-wealth-of-data-to-be-found-in-social-and-political-life-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [By equality, one once understood equality in the very same sense in which the Bible speaks of equality: that we are all equal, inasmuch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/by-equality-one-once-understood-equality-in-the-very-same-sense-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Human beings had two basic orientations: HAVING and BEING HAVING: seeks to acquire, posses things even people BEING: focuses on the experience; exchanging, engaging,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/human-beings-had-two-basic-orientations-having-and-being-having-seeks/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Most people are not even aware of their need to conform. They live under the illusion that they follow their own ideas and inclinations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/most-people-are-not-even-aware-of-their-need-to-conform-they-live/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/just-as-modern-mass-production-requires-the-standardization-of/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/to-respect-a-person-is-not-possible-without-knowing-him-care-and/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Love is an active power in man; a power which breaks through the walls which separate man from his fellow men, which unite him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/love-is-an-active-power-in-man-a-power-which-breaks-through-the-walls/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Perhaps most trivial talk is a need to talk about oneself; hence, the never-ending subject of health and sickness, children, travel, successes, what one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/perhaps-most-trivial-talk-is-a-need-to-talk-about-oneself-hence-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) [Explore all 558 Erich Fromm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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