Social threefolding

There is a lot of writing, debating and arguing about social threefolding. Why is that? Is it because it is more theory than practical reality? Of what use would it be if it cannot be “ lived „? My answer is: She is totally life-like, and at the same time she is mostly a theory for many people. How does that fit together?

Well, first of all the facts. We understand by creativity, science, economy, education, laws and government that which Rudolf Steiner divides into three parts. The economic, the spiritual and the legal life. Although there are only three terms, a person who does not yet have a clear picture of the social threefolding will quickly become confused and lose track – or even confuse – of these terms. Because the classification made by Rudolf Steiner might not appear intuitively to someone who does not have an inside picture.

But it is a Small miracle. Then you suddenly realise what it’s all about. It starts with the hint that there are different functional groups in the human body. For example, the human nervous system and the sensory system have a different character than the so-called rhythmic system (e.g. heart and blood circulation). And such fundamental diversities also apply to social interaction: The world of the spirit, e.g. the activity of a teacher, is something completely different by comparison to the production, distribution and consumption of goods (economic life). Of course, everything is connected somehow, just as the different functional groups in the body interact with each other.

But in order to develop one’s own awareness and perception, it is important to distinguish the roots and characteristics of what we experience these days in the public sphere, at work, in education, etc., and to keep them precisely distinct from one another.

But the teaching, the intellectual productivity, the research, the art, every activity based on expertise and ideas can then express itself FREELY, without restrictions by economic expectations or regulations, which in truth would strangle.

To bring social threefolding into reality it must be followed by practice; it will not be of much use in theory. Only when a community of people agrees on a mutual vision which is carried in their hearts in everyday life, then social threefolding becomes a reality in our lives.

She‘ s yet in the distance, but she‘ s very nearby. It all depends on what one does.

Über den BerAs I said at the beginning, there is much that can be discussed and lamented about the field of social threefolding. Unfortunately, this will most likely not bring us any further. We therefore want to develop with you here, if possible, in such a way that we all have the feeling that we can truly make new discoveries and that our inputs can be helpful in order to get into practice.

François Hagdorn, 6. March 2022