Social threefolding

Social threefolding is a social theory which originated in the early 20th century from the work of Rudolf Steiner. Of central importance is a distinction made between three spheres of society – the political, economic, and cultural. The idea is that when economy, culture, and polity are relatively independent of one another, they check, balance, and correct one another and thus lead to greater social health and progress. This is not be confused with laissez-faire economics. Steiner was concerned rather that businesses should not be able to buy favorable laws and regulations, and that governments should regulate the economy and protections for workers impartially and not be corrupted by participating in business. "A sphere of life calls forth interests arising only within that sphere. Out of the economic sphere one can develop only economic interests. If one is called out of this sphere to produce legal judgements as well, then these will merely be economic interests in disguise.".^[1] Social threefolding aims to foster:

equality and democracy in political life,
freedom in cultural life (art, science, religion, education, the media), and
uncoerced cooperation in a freely contractual economic life.

In 1917, during the First World War, Steiner first proposed what he often called the "threefoldment of the social organism." Then in 1919, during the German Revolution following the end of the war, Steiner was asked by several colleagues to lead and did lead a public campaign for threefold social ideas. In 1922, he gave a series of lectures on economics from the threefoldment perspective.

Steiner suggested the cooperative independence of these three societal realms could be achieved both through relatively gradual, small-scale changes in individual enterprises,^[2] as well as by relatively rapid medium- and large-scale changes in whole economic regions or even in whole societies.^[3] Steiner insisted that large-scale changes could only be implemented if accepted by the will of the majority in society, i.e., democratically.^[4]

Steiner rejected all ideology, characterizing it as a restriction and imposition on what lives in people.^[5]

Instead, Steiner sought to create conditions whereby people themselves could act creatively within the economy (through what he called associations, as well as through what today is sometimes called steward-owned business and stakeholder capitalism), within politics (through more participatory forms of direct democracy), and within culture (through the autonomy of teachers and other cultural workers). "All ideal programs are to be dismissed, all prescriptions are to be dismissed, everything is placed into the immediate impulse of the individual ability."^[6]

Steiner described how the three spheres had been growing independent over thousands of years, evolving from ancient theocracies which governed all aspects of society; then, gradually separating out the purely political and legal life (beginning in Ancient Greece and Rome); then again, the purely economic life (beginning with the Industrial Revolution).^[7]

Steiner saw this trend as evolving towards greater independence of the three spheres in modern times. However now this evolution must be taken up with conscious intention by society.^[8]

Steiner held it socially destructive when one of the three spheres tries to dominate the others. For example:

"Theocracy" occurs when a cultural impulse dominates economy and politics;
Unregulated and socially irresponsible capitalism allows economic interests to dominate politics and culture; and
State socialism means political agendas dominate culture and economic life.

A more specific example: Arthur Salter, 1st Baron Salter suggests governments frequently fail when they begin to give "discretionary, particularly preferential privileges to competitive industry [hence fascism]."^[9] The goal is for this independence to arise in such a way these three realms mutually balance each other, providing healthy cultural equilibrium.

Many concrete reform proposals to advance a "threefold social order" at various scales have been advanced since 1919. Some intentionally cooperative businesses and organizations, mostly in Europe, have attempted to realize a balance between the three spheres, given existing local structures. Waldorf schools deserve special mention in this regard.^[10] Another application has been the creation of various socially responsible banks and foundations. Bernard Lievegoed incorporated significant aspects of social threefolding in his work on organizational development.

^ The Renewal of the Social Organism, Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophic Press, 1985, page 26.
^ "Where the old conditions still exist, these can be taken as the basis from which to work towards the new separation of functions. Where the old order has already melted away or is in process of dissolution, individuals and small groups of people must find the initiative to start reconstructing along new lines of growth. To try in twenty-four hours to bring about a transformation in public life is recognized by thoughtful socialists themselves as midsummer madness. They look to gradual, opportune changes to bring about what they regard as social welfare." Threefold Social Order, Chapter 1
^ "To-day we should, after all, be learning to see, how at bottom nothing is to be accomplished except by treating things on a big scale, as I might say." (...) [S]o long as we cannot find a sufficient number of people with the courage at last to say, 'A new day will have to come, with new people! There must be a clean sweep of everything to do with these horrible old parties; something quite new must come to life!’ — Until we can do this, all discussion as to the most effective ways of [threefold] propaganda is so much talk for the cat! We are not living to-day in an age when anything whatever can be done by little measures. We are living in an age when it is an urgent necessity, a sufficiently large number of people, holding the same language and the same ideas (values), should be capable of throwing themselves actively into the thing (action), — not merely being 'quite enthusiastic' about it." The Threefold Order of the Body Social – Study Series II
^ Albert Schmelzer, in his doctoral thesis, The Threefolding Movement, 1919, pp. 132–133: "The conquest of political power was necessary, but if it was to be enduring, he [Steiner] said, it had to be supported 'by the knowledge and insight of the actual majority of the population.' Without a change of consciousness, a longer-term transformation would not be possible. With this rejection of coups and revolutionary violence, and with the commitment to democracy—a commitment completely in line with the threefolding idea—the question was of course raised anew as to how to achieve political power in democratic fashion. An answer is not present in the conversation transcripts—a problem still to be revisited. In place of an answer came an appeal [from Steiner]: 'A question of will must be raised and not merely a theoretical question such as: How do we get the majority? I say: We must have it! And therefore we must work to get it. It must be a question of will. Otherwise it won't happen.'" The Threefolding Movement, 1919, Albert Schmelzer, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2017.
^ "No circumstances of party, no schemes of party, have any share in what comes before the world today as the impulse for the Threefold Social Order. Nothing has any share in this impulse, save what can be acquired in the course of a life spent in learning to know the needs, the demands, the conditions and circumstances of all the many human beings living side by side in the various classes. When a practical way of life is then sketched out today on premises such as these, then one is told this practical way of life is a 'Utopia,' an 'ideology!'" The Threefold Order of the Body Social – Study Series I
^ Steiner, Rudolf (1921) "The Central Question of Economic Life".
^ Steiner, Rudolf (1996). Threefold the Social Order. New Economy Publications. pp. 10–22.
^ "The most significant aspect of the rising forces of our more recent times is humanity can no longer remain stuck on mere instinctive will impulses. That’s simply out of the nature of development it must prepare the form of the social structure out of a (deliberate) conscious will." "The Social Will as the Basis Towards a New, Scientific Procedure."
^ Salter, Arthur (1933). Recovery. G. Bell. p. 341.
^ Lía Tummer, Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy for Beginners, Writers and Readers Publishing, 2001, ISBN 0-86316-286-X, pp. 123–126.

[1] The Renewal of the Social Organism, Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophic Press, 1985, page 26.

[2] "Where the old conditions still exist, these can be taken as the basis from which to work towards the new separation of functions. Where the old order has already melted away or is in process of dissolution, individuals and small groups of people must find the initiative to start reconstructing along new lines of growth. To try in twenty-four hours to bring about a transformation in public life is recognized by thoughtful socialists themselves as midsummer madness. They look to gradual, opportune changes to bring about what they regard as social welfare." Threefold Social Order, Chapter 1

[3] "To-day we should, after all, be learning to see, how at bottom nothing is to be accomplished except by treating things on a big scale, as I might say." (...) [S]o long as we cannot find a sufficient number of people with the courage at last to say, 'A new day will have to come, with new people! There must be a clean sweep of everything to do with these horrible old parties; something quite new must come to life!’ — Until we can do this, all discussion as to the most effective ways of [threefold] propaganda is so much talk for the cat! We are not living to-day in an age when anything whatever can be done by little measures. We are living in an age when it is an urgent necessity, a sufficiently large number of people, holding the same language and the same ideas (values), should be capable of throwing themselves actively into the thing (action), — not merely being 'quite enthusiastic' about it." The Threefold Order of the Body Social – Study Series II

[4] Albert Schmelzer, in his doctoral thesis, The Threefolding Movement, 1919, pp. 132–133: "The conquest of political power was necessary, but if it was to be enduring, he [Steiner] said, it had to be supported 'by the knowledge and insight of the actual majority of the population.' Without a change of consciousness, a longer-term transformation would not be possible. With this rejection of coups and revolutionary violence, and with the commitment to democracy—a commitment completely in line with the threefolding idea—the question was of course raised anew as to how to achieve political power in democratic fashion. An answer is not present in the conversation transcripts—a problem still to be revisited. In place of an answer came an appeal [from Steiner]: 'A question of will must be raised and not merely a theoretical question such as: How do we get the majority? I say: We must have it! And therefore we must work to get it. It must be a question of will. Otherwise it won't happen.'" The Threefolding Movement, 1919, Albert Schmelzer, Rudolf Steiner Press, 2017.

[5] "No circumstances of party, no schemes of party, have any share in what comes before the world today as the impulse for the Threefold Social Order. Nothing has any share in this impulse, save what can be acquired in the course of a life spent in learning to know the needs, the demands, the conditions and circumstances of all the many human beings living side by side in the various classes. When a practical way of life is then sketched out today on premises such as these, then one is told this practical way of life is a 'Utopia,' an 'ideology!'" The Threefold Order of the Body Social – Study Series I

[6] Steiner, Rudolf (1921) "The Central Question of Economic Life".

[7] Steiner, Rudolf (1996). Threefold the Social Order. New Economy Publications. pp. 10–22.

[8] "The most significant aspect of the rising forces of our more recent times is humanity can no longer remain stuck on mere instinctive will impulses. That’s simply out of the nature of development it must prepare the form of the social structure out of a (deliberate) conscious will." "The Social Will as the Basis Towards a New, Scientific Procedure."

[9] Salter, Arthur (1933). Recovery. G. Bell. p. 341.

[Tummer-10] Lía Tummer, Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy for Beginners, Writers and Readers Publishing, 2001, ISBN 0-86316-286-X, pp. 123–126.

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