 Unabridged edition, with translator's introduction and a section of notes explaining the historical situation and personalities mentioned in the text. Translated by Frank Thomas Smith 81 pages This book was written in 1919, just after the First World War, and suggests solutions to the social, political and economic problems of those times. At the end of the book, Steiner writes: "...either people will accommodate their thinking to the requirements of reality, or they will have learned nothing from the calamity and will cause innumerable new ones to occur in the future." History since then has proven these words to be prophetic. The "social question" has not been resolved, nor have steps been taken to initiate the healing process. We all too often look to the political state for the solutions to all social problems, be they of an economic, cultural or political nature. Steiner's concept of a tripartite, or threefold society in which the economic, cultural and political spheres would enjoy relative autonomy within the social organism has not yet been tried. This book contains his basic ideas for the restructuring of society.
The
challenges which contemporary society presents will be misunderstood by
those who approach them with utopian ideas. It is of course possible to
believe that any one of diverse theories, arrived at through personal
observation and conviction, will result in making men happy. Such a belief
can acquire overwhelming persuasive power. Nevertheless, as far as the
social question of the times is concerned, it becomes irrelevant as soon
as the attempt is made to assert it. The
following example, although seeming to carry this proposition to an
extreme, is nevertheless valid. Let us assume that someone is in
possession of a perfect, theoretical 'solution' to the social question. In
spite of this, in attempting to offer it to the public he becomes the
victim of an unpractical belief. We no longer live in an age in which
public life can be influenced in this way. People's minds are simply not
disposed to accept the ideas of another as far as this subject is
concerned. They will not say: here is someone who knows how society should be structured, so we will
act according to his opinions. People
are not interested in social ideas which are presented to them in this
way. This book, which has already reached a fairly large audience, takes
this phenomenon into consideration. Those who accuse it of having a
utopian character have completely misunderstood my intentions. It is
interesting to note that such criticism has come principally from people
who themselves indulge almost exclusively in utopian thinking and are
inclined to attribute their own mental habits to
others. Truly
practical people know from experience that even the most convincing
utopian ideas lead absolutely nowhere. In spite of this, many of them seem
to feel obliged to propound just such ideas, especially in the field of
economics. They should realize that they are wasting their breath, that
their fellow men will not be able to apply such
propositions. The
above should be treated as a fact of life inasmuch as it indicates an
important characteristic of contemporary public life, namely, that our
present notions concerning economics, for example, have little relation to
reality. How can we then hope to cope with the chaotic condition of
society if we approach it with a thought process which has no relation to
reality? This
question can hardly meet with favour as it requires the admission that our
thinking is indeed remote from reality. Nevertheless, without such an
admission we will not get to the bottom of the social question. Only when
we understand that this divorce of thought from reality is a condition of
the utmost seriousness for contemporary civilization, can we become clear
in our own minds as to what society really needs. The
whole question revolves around the shape of contemporary spiritual life.
Modern man has developed a spiritual life which is to a very large extent
dependent upon political institutions and economic forces. While still a
child he is given over to a state educational system, and his upbringing
must correspond to the economic circumstances of his
environment. It
is easy to believe that this situation results in the individual becoming
well adjusted to contemporary life, that the state is best qualified to
organize the educational system - and therewith the foundation of public
cultural affairs - for the benefit of the community. It is also easy to
believe that the individual who is educated according to the economic
conditions of his environment and who is then placed according to these
conditions becomes the best possible member of human
society. This
book must assume the unpopular task of showing that the chaotic condition
of our public life derives from the dependence of spiritual life on the
political state and economic interests. It must also show that the
liberation of spiritual life and culture from this dependence constitutes
an important element of the burning social question.
Rudolf Steiner was born in Kraljevic, Austria on February 27, 1861, and died in Dornach, Switzerland, on March 30, 1925. He was a scientist, writer, lecturer and philosopher, as well as being the founder and leading light of Anthroposophy, a movement based on the belief that there is a spiritual world comprehensible to pure thought but accessible only to the highest faculties of mental (spiritual) activity. Steiner edited Goethe's scientific works, and from 1889 to 1896 worked on the standard version of his complete works at Weimer. During this period Steiner wrote his "Philosophy of Freedom", then moved to Berlin to edit the literary journal "Magazin für Literatur" and to begin an extensive, life-long lecturing career. Convinced of the possibility of spiritual perception independent of the senses, he called the activity of his research "anthroposophy", centering on "knowledge produced by the higher self in man". All of his many books and over 6,000 lectures are available in German and most in English as well. The practical results of Steiner's work include hundreds of "Waldorf" schools the world over, bio-dynamic agriculture and anthroposophical medicine. These movements continue growing and nourishing society.
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