our time so hard and complicated but also rich we have to act out of consciousness for the whole Friday, August 10th 2012

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1 The Threefold Social Organism Freedom for spiritual-cultural life, Equality and Democracy for rights life, Initiative and Solidarity for the economic life 5 lectures by Ulrich Rösch during the Anthroposophical Conference in August 2012 The social issues in the 21 st century should be approached on the background of a global dimension. The time of small national entities is over. We are living in a globalized world. Our world has become one. Rudolf Steiner mentioned this already in his economic course: What one could compare individual countries to, at the most, would be cells of an organism; as an economic body, the entire world can only be compared to an organism. This has to be made note of. Ever since we have had a world economy, it is much easier to understand that individual countries can only be compared to cells. The whole Earth considered as an economic organism, is (actually) the social organism (1 st lecture World Economy, ). We have to learn that people all over the world are our brothers and sisters with different colours of their skin and may be also different thoughts and consciousness and different affections. This makes our task not easy but also very exciting and rich. So let s try to live the new one world! This is understood by our contemporary fellow citizens. But to understand social might be much more difficult. In the past the word social had the sound of charitable, give alms, a coin into the poor box for the paupers. What is social in our days? Rudolf Steiner is using the word Gemeinschaft, community as a social entity. In a community of human beings working together, the wellbeing of the community will be the greater, the less the individual claims for himself the proceeds of the work he has himself done; i.e. the more of these proceeds he gives over to his fellow workers, and the more his own requirements are satisfied, not out of his work, but out of work done by the others. Steiner calls this a fundamental social law. If we look at a community of human beings working together, first we see a working group. Such groups have developed out of small medieval craftsman communities. The glance on working together widens in our days immediately on large national enterprises and cooperations. And our today s realities are transnational trusts. In the age of globalisation it is becoming more and more obvious, that the community of human beings working together has to be understood global. The fundamental social law only finds its living expression in actual reality, when a community of human beings succeeds in creating institutions that the results go wholly to the benefit of the community. In our times social actions will only have a salutary effect if the activists hold in their mind their sisters and brothers all over the world. It is very clear, that every group has to find her own way, her own solution. But in their mind they have to keep the whole humanity. Steiner described the shape of the modern society as a Threefold Social Organism. During the course in Breslau-Koberwitz on the 17th of June, 1924 Rudolf Steiner spoke of threefolding: actions would have to originate from anthroposophy. Then there evolved the need to come to the impulse of threefolding of the social organism, to create a threefold economy, in the life where spiritual nature could have lived. And this would have also originated if threefolding had seized their hearts. In this sense I hope that our meeting may become a field of exercise for a social festival of the future, for threefolding of the social organism, of freedom, equality and brotherhood. Being a social activist (as teachers, parents in a Waldorf School, biodynamic farmers, medical doctors aso.) we have to be aware of this threefold form. We have to study it and find an inner lively picture of this new social reality. We should not mix this lively image, an inner experience with an outer scheme or model. This will give us only the background in which we have to insert our social activity. But each one alone will not fulfil the need of our

2 time. Both have to come together. This again makes our time so hard and complicated but also rich. Of course at every place any social groups have to go their own way. What is right for one group might be totally wrong for another group. Everyone has to find an own solution and has to keep in mind their sisters and brothers being in distress and indigence. To do it in a modern healthy way, we have to act out of consciousness for the whole. Friday, August 10 th 2012 Introductory lecture by Ulrich Rösch The Threefold Social Organism a phenomenological approach to social issues. How can we experience a spiritual reality in the given social world. Steiner describes the task for economists as well as for social scientists thus: phenomena appearing in the world are to be understood by insight-oriented thinking. He developed his idea of the threefold social order as the shape of the social organism out of the experience of modern industrial society in the form of liberal capitalism. Interestingly, it was in the course of his observation of the basic social forms that Steiner perceived that our modern society, which had grown asocial, had, hidden within itself, the seed of true socialism and of an encompassing fraternal co-existence. In fact, it is the industrial society, which actually demands selfless activity of people for one another. Liberalistic ideology, which talks of egotism in all our social relationships, is opposed to this and this engraves and impacts our contemporary society in a wrong way. "In a community of human beings working together, the well-being of the community will be the greater, the less the individual claims for himself the proceeds of work he has himself done; i.e. the more of these proceeds he gives over to his fellow workers, and the more his own requirements are satisfied, not out of his work, but out of work done by the others The important point is, therefore, that working for one's fellow man, and the object of obtaining so much income, must be kept apart, as two separate things. Twelve years after that fundamental social law, Steiner discovered the phenomenon of the threefold organism in the human being and in the social realm: freedom, individualism for the spiritual life, democracy for the life of rights and solidarity for the economic life. Steiner had already developed the concept of a globalized economy in the 1920s. His concept, however, covered the measure of humanity. The key to fraternal collaboration lies in the division of labour among people. Every person who is economically active produces something for the requirement of others. Others ensure that he can create a humane existence for himself; they generate food, clothing, housing etc. for him. This is solidarity in give and take. The results is a totally new approach to economic processes. Steiner s concept for an industrial society and for a post-industrial economy attempts to unite free people who have initiative with this principle of economic solidarity. He explains the form of an associative economic life in which fraternal elements and free initiative are brought together in a creative form. The main problem is the coming apart of production and consumption interests (producers and consumer s interests). A new social form is required to bridge this polarity. Obviously, consumer s interests should also be represented in such an association aside of those of experienced and professional producers. It is obvious too that all obligations that result from the legal position, e.g., environment protection, should also be present in such an organization. These types of social associations should be formed regionally. Entrepreneurs from all

3 fields should be their members: vertical as well as horizontal mergers should occur. It is obvious that cultural institutions are also to be represented in such associations. A direct merger of economic and cultural institutions would result in new forms of financing which could bypass the cost intensive route via the State. The surpluses could then flow directly to the cultural institutions. Other types of communal tasks could be financed through direct taxation on expenditure. All indirect taxes or taxes that would result in an increase in labour costs are to be exempted. Actually there is quite a strong movement in Europe for basic income and expenditure tax headed by Götz Werner and Benediktus Hardorp from Germany. Associations should be attached to institutions resembling banks and they should help to translate into action whatever is recognized to be the right thing to do. Granting of credit by these banks too should be directed by the association s decisions. Rudolf Steiner viewed the founding of such associative banks as an especially imperative necessity. As social scientists we can experience the social organism as an inner spiritual picture but then we have to become artists. The artist then creates a new, unique piece of art out of the archetype. This is the process we must also follow in the social realm. In doing so in a free community, we move from social science to social art. Saturday, August 11 th Morning: Lecture by Ulrich Rösch The founding of the Waldorf School out of the Movement for a Threefold Social Order. At the end of the First World War Rudolf Steiner talked to many leading persons in the political realm. But they were not ready to think new impulses and to go new ways. So the social breakdown went his way and in all European countries revolutionary groups evolved. Then entrepreneurs from Germany came to Steiner and asked him to contribute for the healing of the social organism. Steiner came and talked in most of the big companies to the work force but also to the industrialists. After a good success in the beginning the political parties on the left and on the right side worked against the impulse of the threefold social order and the masses still followed their political leaders. Steiner went the practical way and launched the first Waldorf School together with the directorate and the workers of the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory. It was meant as example for an institution born out of a free spiritual life and it was thought to get immediately many followers all around the world. - But this happened only 50 years later. Steiner also helped to start a new business enterprise (a commonwealth) The coming Day where a new form of collaboration should be experienced and cultural enterprises, like the Waldorf School or the Goetheanum could be financed by these enterprises. Steiner also shaped the Anthroposophical Society and movement in a new social form. But before he could accomplish he passed away. And his followers were not able to continue this great deed. But this is our task today not only in Dornach but in the whole world. Seven Social Processes and Organs in a Modern Enterprise Social Organs and Structures in a Waldorf school Of course the threefold concept also includes the main structure of an enterprise in the cultural, but also in the economic realm. Three folded is also the human body: the nerve system centred in the head, the rhythmic system centred in the middle (heart), and the metabolic system centred in the periphery (the limbs). Correspondent we have the shape of the social system: debating colleagues create the free spiritual life - abilities are created and developed. The rights life is evolving between the human beings. In the

4 best case equal rights become the base - dignity of the humans will come about. In the economic life we all are working for our fellow human being. Cooperation and work in partnership is the aim for which we are striving. A cooperative work in partnership will create fraternity in economic life. But beside our threefold human structure we also have a sevenfold form, caused by the etheric forces. This will describe and help to understand how a school or a working unit could be organized. The human body has 7 main organs; the social life or any group working together has to build 7 social organs to set up an adequate organization. 1. We have to find and declare our assignments. A Council of elders could take care of the right direction of our enterprise. 2. Do we also look to the future of our enterprise? Are we a permanent learning community? Do we built such organs? 3. Do we have enough abilities to perform sufficient? Who is in charge or our performance and develops our faculties? 4. Which constitutional (social) form is adequate for our community? Do we have an assembly of members as a democratic organ? 5. Will our earnings (financial income) be sufficient? Do we have a proper management of the finances? Do we balance our tasks and our financial possibilities? 6. Are our products, is our performance required? Do we have a social body for t he consumers (our parents)? Are we aware of our influence in the social environment? 7. Who is willing to guarantee the realisation of our mission? Do we have an adequate executive committee? Who accepts the responsibility or liability for our enterprise? In the beginning of an enterprise (school) not all social organs will be developed. But we have to take care that they are already in our consciousness. Sunday, August 12 th Morning: Lecture by Ulrich Rösch The Rights Sphere - the Middle Realm of Social Life Our Earthly Task We live in a time that is full of contradictions. For example, the main social law as formulated by Steiner turns on its head everything that liberalism has taught us. It is actually a matter-of-fact description of what the workforce-portion of society and the economy have created. No one can any longer work only for him- or herself. Everything that I bring forth in terms of work is for others, and comes about in connection with others. The baker bakes bread least of all for himself and his family, but for others instead: the consumers. Other people have built his house or provided his clothing, food, car, etc. It s always reciprocal each person works for others. As single persons we are becoming increasingly individual yet our community living requires increasing socialness. Here we experience the polarity this contradictoriness of the economy of our time. On the one hand it is set up to be a consistently altruistic society each person works for others. Yet on the other hand it is rammed into our heads and intellect that people should act out of self-interest, that everyone should be egotistic, since this moves society forward. This results in the schizophrenia in which we live. I believe that this is a great source of illness for people in our time that what they think with their head is different than what they actually feel in their heart and do out of their will. This inconsistency is distressing and destructive. The actual reason why we incarnate is that the human being meets other human beings

5 and creates rights. This is our earthly task! The sphere in which this takes place is the rights sphere, this middle realm to which the principle of equality and fairness, or justice, belongs. Through the regulation of rights, work-for-pay can be eliminated. We need regulations that prevent pure egotism in our economic life from winning through, and which, to the contrary, make it possible for people s activity to be for one another, in brotherliness. Rights alone don t bring this about, but this realm creates the prerequisites for our being able, in freedom to act in a brotherly way. Given the polarity of spiritual life and economic life, the rights sphere lies between the two. It lives in the relation of one person to another. All social elements have their origin between birth and death, and are therefore actual and in the present. The modern life of the state can be based only on a foundation of democracy, and will always be oriented in accordance with human dignity and equality. But also the valuing of work, its regulation, protection and parameters belong to the rights sphere. The threefolding of the social organism lives in the living grasp of the inner lawfulness of social processes not in a dogmatic form that matches private schools to the sphere of spiritual life, the police force and parliament to the rights sphere, and the school kitchen to the economic life. One shouldn t look only at actual practical projects, but also at the interconnectedness of lawful phenomena, and how they play out in daily life. Every entrepreneurial activity and actually every economic activity including working on an assembly line has its origin, according to Rudolf Steiner, in spiritual life. Capacities are called for they may have to be developed in order for this activity to even take place. Another person endowed with other capacities can t accomplish this same task. Also what a teacher does for the needs of his students or for their parents naturally falls into the domain of value and is thereby part of the economy. The rights sphere is directly connected with what is earthly, with our actual earthly task. It s our responsibility to configure this realm democratically throughout the entire world in such a way that brotherliness, the human element, is brought to bear. To conclude I would like to still add something from a lecture for members, which Rudolf Steiner held in 1912 in Stuttgart (Reincarnation and Karma Two Fundamental Truths of Human Existence; lecture of February 21, 1912): There is, for example, nothing as adverse to a real conviction of reincarnation and karma as the principle that for the work one has done, one should reap a corresponding wage that directly pays for the work. This is clear wording: There is nothing that works more contrary to the understanding of reincarnation and karma than working for a wage. But the idea should draw near to people that indeed in a world-order in which one thinks that work and wages have to directly correspond to each other, in which, so to speak, one has to earn through one s work what one needs to live, a truly grounded conviction of reincarnation and karma can never thrive. One cannot express this more radically than did Rudolf Steiner. So long as people think that they work for their money, they can never attain an understanding of reincarnation and karma. We have to bring the social question into this dimension. We cannot progress in our spiritual development and fulfil our earthly task and humanity will not have a say in the future without arranging the social organism in a threefold way: in the sense of socialism for economic life, democracy for the life of the state or rights sphere, freedom or individualism for spiritual life. This will need to be seen as the only healing, as the real rescue for humanity. (Rudolf Steiner, August 9, 1919, Dornach, in Education as a Social Problem [1984], later published as Education As a Force for Social Change [1997]) Yet a society of this kind can never be based on state regulations, but only on the collaboration of free spirits.

6 Monday, August 13 th Morning: Lecture by Ulrich Rösch Education as a Force for Social Change Freedom, Equality and Fraternity are the functioning principles of a modern society built on self-administration. They can only achieve the measure of a human being when they correspond to his essence in a three-fold manner: freedom in his spiritual life, equality in the legal sphere and fraternity in the economic life (Rudolf Steiner). Only when a sufficiently large number of people having these new insights, want to take charge of shaping the world, can healing of social relationship be experienced. The revival and strong growth of the worldwide movement of the civil society may encourage. Créativité au Pouvoir, Coming into power of Creativity, was the slogan of the Parisian May Revolt in This battle cry is even more valid today. To see through and recognise social trends and processes is one side while artistic and creative development of new social forms must join this. Then people of goodwill can collectively create another, better world worthy of the human being. We cannot strive to produce a paradisiacal condition but we can eliminate the host of illnesses in our society to enable the social organism develop in a healthy manner. All those people who work to bring this into effect are fellow creators and fellow artists of the social sculpture. The child makes in its development the first steps of walking (standing upright), talking and thinking. These provide basic principle in the entire process of human beings. Correspondingly, the first seven year cycle in a human being s life organises itself in these three stages: 1 st stage, In which the child devotes itself to the world with its body as it experiences its surrounding without any distance; 2 nd stage, in which the child experiences unfettered fantasy and understands playing games; and the 3 rd in which the child becomes ready to go to school, where playing games that imitate real life tasks automatically leads to a capacity for the abstract. Through imitation and accompaniment in activities, the children learn in a manner appropriate to the fist seven years cycle. To understand modern life we have to think the concept of metamorphosis. The so developed forces in the first seven years will be transformed to forces to stand as adult person in the social realm to shape it individual, out of freedom. In the second seven year cycle, the child needs the authority and the personality of its own teacher. This will create forces for the adult, to accept the other human being as an own entity. This will be the base for a real democratic behaviour and understanding of the social world. After puberty the young people must learn about the world with its mind. It should use thinking to understand what other great Thinkers have said. Its own ability to form an opinion and make judgements should be awakened. This is also the age of ability to understand today s world through thought. This ability to have interest for the whole world and the phenomena of the world will give the force to the adult person to develop cosmopolitanism. This ability for companion with other human beings will be the foundation for a fraternity in the economic life. Anthroposophy, on whose foundation the Waldorfkindergarten and the Waldorfschool is based, takes into account the transformation of forces. The harmony, happiness, health and love that is given to the child is transformed in later life into strength to form the world, so that alongside great technical advances, advances are also made in humanising our social life, in order that great ideals of freedom, equality and fraternity come closer to becoming a social reality. Ulrich Rösch, August 2012