This article was first published as "Let Man Prevail: A Socialist Manifesto and Programm", The Call Association, New York, 1960. This manifesto is a kind of evidence of Fromm’s political activity. After publishing the book "Paths to a Healthy Society", which contains not only a detailed description of socialism, but also specific advice for changing society, Fromm began to act in the "everyday" politics of the United States. In 1957, he participated in the organization of SANE, the largest peace movement in the United States, and he also joined the Socialist Party of the United States. Fromm made great efforts to push the party towards his understanding of humanitarian socialism. The Socialist Party - Social Democratic Federation (SP-SDF) was for him a party that was supposed to become “the voice of the scientific and moral conscience in the United States,” as Fromm wrote in one of the articles for this party.

During the national congress of the SP-SDF in 1958, a separate commission was convened to deal with the reformulation of the party program. It was for this commission that Fromm wrote “Let Man Prevail.” The commission's reactions to Fromm's attempt to update generally accepted ideas about socialism were mixed. Some enthusiastically supported it, some rejected it. Since, according to Fromm, the adoption of the new program was possible only from the bottom up, his formulation was published and put up for discussion. The commission was “unified that Dr. Fromm’s manifesto is a very important and provocative document that needs discussion and careful verification” (D. Hoopes, party chairman, in the introduction to the published “Let Man Prevail”). This statement may already indicate that the acceptance of Fromm’s ideas about socialism in the party was difficult. In the end, Fromm left the party when his ideas encountered insurmountable resistance from the party bureaucracy.