Why should society feel responsible only for the education of children, and not for the education of all adults of every age?

Fromm’s question challenges the common assumption that education is chiefly a preparatory phase for the young rather than a lifelong social responsibility. It implies that democratic, humane societies should cultivate adults’ continued intellectual and moral development—not merely their vocational skills—because adult character, judgment, and emotional maturity shape public life, work, family, and politics. In Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalytic framework, growth is not finished at adulthood; people can become more autonomous, loving, and rational, but only if social institutions support ongoing learning and self-formation. The quote thus critiques a culture that treats adults as fixed and educates them only indirectly through propaganda, consumption, or workplace discipline.