The Social Question

Related Material

Rudolf Steiner on Social Issues:

www.elib.com/SocialIssues/index.php

The Social Issues Section of the Rudolf Steiner e.Lib presents some of the lectures and publications of Rudolf Steiner that are related to Social Issues. In the Catalogue of Holdings, the works are categorized as lectures, articles, books, etc. Works presented here may be accessed from the Catalogue, from our Main Steiner e.Lib Menu, or by selecting a subject area from the Sections list at the upper left of this page.

Basic Issues of the Social Question:

wn.elib.com/Lectures/GA023/English/SCR2001/GA023_index.html

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 Renewal of the Social Organism:

wn.elib.com/Lectures/GA024/English/AP1985/GA024_index.html

The articles presented in this volume were written during 1919 and 1920. In the Collected Edition of Rudolf Steiner's works, the volume containing the German texts is entitled, Aufsätze über die Dreigliederung des sozialen Organismus und zur Zeitlage 1915-1921 (Vol. 24 in the Bibliographic Survey, 1961.). They were translated from the German by E. Bowen-Wedgewood and Ruth Mariott; the translation was revised by Frederick Amrine. The publication of the printed volume was made possible by a grant from the Dietrich V. Asten Memorial Fund.

Inner Aspect of the Social Question:

wn.elib.com/Lectures/GA193/English/RSP1974/InnAsp_index.html

Rudolf Steiner suggested new ways to organize society and engage with social questions. This book presents his esoteric perspective on such concerns. Steiner asserts that we must begin by giving real value to the human element in the world, finding a deeper understanding of our relationship to nature and to the cosmos. Accordingly, it is ineffective to organize society in an arbitrary way; society ought to reflect the human relationship to the spiritual world. Steiner goes on to discuss the threefold archetype of social life — the political state, the economy, and the spiritual and cultural aspects — and how these three areas can interact in a healthy way, leading to an evolving society that is vibrant.