Matthew Segall, PhD Presents: Rudolf Steiner's 'Social Threefolding'

Process philosopher Matthew Segall, PhD spoke with Steve McIntosh’s Zoom group about Rudolf Steiner's concept of "Social Threefolding."

Steiner's idea for the threefolding of society suggests that a conscious differentiation (not division) of economic, political, and cultural domains can bring clarity to the healthy impulses seeking expression in each domain. The hope is that such a clarification cultivates the collective will and moral imagination required for addressing the thicket of social conflicts dividing humanity at both local and planetary scales.

[mattkreinheder]

really great discussion. Steiner really deserves more airtime than he gets.

[phaeriestud]

Thanks for the discussion. It was an introduction for me to Rudolf Steiner!

[TransitionWhatcom-hgbr]

Are you folks aware of Jennifer Gidley's magnum opus of an essay, "The Evolution of Consciousness as a Planetary Imperative: An Integration of Integral Views, " published by Integral Review? She compares and contrasts Rudolf Steiner, Jean Gebser, and Ken Wilber.

[ChannelRareAlbion]

Much appreciated! Christopher Houghton Budd

[mh]

The threefold social organism is not an attempt to create a society. Instead it is a description of what is recognized as a natural outcome of humans living together in a society. In other words, it is already visible in the current society, but because it is not consciously acknowledged, we have created a society based on theories that clash with the natural tendencies of humans living in a society. Therefore, one can currently already recognize the reality of this tripartion, not just in what works, but especially in the things that do not work. In the mistakes and problems one can most clearly recognize the threefold character of the social organism.

We currently struggle to find answers and solutions for problems we ourselves have created because we don't actually understand the mistakes we made and still make. Once you begin to understand the underlying forces and principles of any human society as seen in three forces at work, which are aligned with and come from how we humans functions, you begin to see the real problems. From there on, and with the tripartition as a guide and reference, actual answers and solutions for the actual problems can be found. This would gradually lead to a kind of society that adapts to humans, instead of merely humans adapting to a society that does not truly fit them.

In a comment from another video about this topic I read the indications below, that roughly and superficially show what I mean when I say that within the mistakes and onesidedness of a theory or paradigm, you can see how the threefold social organism really functions. The indicators were taken from the French 'battle cry' Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, representing the three aspects of the social organism. These are all examples from when one of the aspects is placed in an area of the social organism where it does not belong.

To campare this with how the threefold character of the social organism really is composed, I will first describe them in order as seen in the French slogan:

Freedom is about intellectual life (though a broader term than 'intellectual' would be more accurate).
Equality is about legal life (equal before the law).
Brotherhood is about economic life (the economy with its main focus to serve the material needs of society by working together).

Some of the possible effects of 'misplacing' them:

Freedom in economic life brings capitalism,
Equality in economic life brings communism.

Freedom in legal life is the right of the most powerful,
Brotherhood in legal life brings class justice.

Equality in intellectual life brings fundamentalism,
Brotherhood in intellectual life brings cultural Marxism.