So that a society functions adequately, their members must acquire a character structure which enables them to do what they need to do in order to prosper.
It is for example expected in an authoritarian society that people are motivated to subordinate themselves to a hierarchy and fulfill selflessly the instructions brought to them.
Thus the character structure in every society is formed in such a way that people can fulfill expectations quasi voluntarily.
As a theorist of the society Fromm is not interested in the peculiarities by which the individual persons distinguish themselves from each other but he asks what is common to most people in their psychological reactions.
The figuration of the social character takes place in most societies at cost of the spontaneity and freedom of the individuals.