ABSTRACT
Alfred Adler was born in Rodolfsheim, near Vienna, Austria. By 1898 Adler was formalising his position on the psychology of the human condition, publishing his holistic arguments in The Health Book for the Tailor Trade. This book was one of the earliest occupational psychology books that made links between the environments in which tailors worked and constructs such as workplace justice, respect, equality and co-operation. Adler found Fritz Wittels’ gendered opinions objectionable and in response gave a talk on the psychology of Marxism and the class struggle. As active socialists, Raissa Epstein and Adler feared imminent imprisonment, so the family left Vienna for Rotterdam, where they obtained passage to America. Adler’s principles and values were egalitarian. He favoured equality and the right to well-being and fairness for all. Adler’s holism was not as thrilling or sensational as S. Freud’s work, but Adler’s approach was practical and adaptable to the realities and complexities of the human psyche.
