Where can we find attempts at implementing the concepts of the Threefold Social Order in the world today ?
An interesting link from our own community in Johannesburg, connected with the Threefold Social Organism, is David Wertheim Aymes’ web-site The Missing Linc : www.themissinglinc.org.
He writes from the orientation of the three fold social order.
Various communities and organisations in the Chesnut Ridge area of New York, USA possibly come as close as is possible in a world is driven by capitalism. There are interesting initiatives that address important aspects of community life such as “The Fellowship Intergenerational Care Community” and “Threefold Biodynamic Farm”, but as a whole, it would not meet with Steiner’s true vision of a Threefold Social Order.
See the following websites for more info:
“Prior to the end of World War I, Steiner spoke increasingly often of the dangerous tensions inherent in the contemporary societal structures and political entanglements. [11] He suggested a collapse of traditional social forms was imminent, and every aspect of society would soon have to be built up consciously rather than relying on the inheritance of past traditions and institutions. After the war, he saw a unique opportunity to establish a healthy social and political constitution and began lecturing throughout post-war Germany, often to large audiences, about his social ideas. These were taken up by a number of prominent cultural and political leaders of the time, but did not succeed in affecting the reconstitution of Germany
taking place at the time. [11]After the failure of this political initiative, Steiner ceased lecturing on the subject, [11] except for a series of economics lectures given in 1922. The impulse continued to be active in other ways, however, in particular through economic initiatives intended to provide support for non-governmental cultural organizations. Banks, such as:
the GLS Gemeinschaftsbank (Community Bank) in Bochum, Germany,
Triodos Bank in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium,
RSF Social Finance in the United States,
all were later founded to provide loans (and sometimes grants) to socially relevant and ethically responsible initiatives. Steiner himself saw the continuation of this impulse in the Waldorf schools, the first of which also opened in 1919. [10] RSF Social Finance has also played a role in support of B Lab, the non-profit corporation that has developed third-party standards by which thousands of businesses have become socially responsible in a way that is independently verified. [12] RSF Social Finance also played a major role in the creation of a steward-ownership structure for one of the largest independent organic produce distributors in the U.S. [13] “Michael Spence looked into where the ThreeFold Social Order was at in 2017 (not much has changed since!), and offers an interesting perspective in 3 parts under the heading : “The Threefold Social Order – has it been forgotten?”
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_threefolding
To read more, click here.
Our Own Library:
Should you be interested, there is a whole section in the Basil Gibaud Library at the Rudolf Steiner Centre with books on the topic of The Threefold Social Order (970 category).
Articles:
- Master key for social problems – by Omri Elaad
- A Fairy Tale: What could be possible in a Threefold Social milieu? by Chandrè Wertheim Aymes