Announcing a year-long study of Rudolf Steiner's "social threefolding"

Will our leaders save us? And should they?

Many people have recognized a movement in human history from more fixed and hierarchical social forms, to more fluid and egalitarian ones. And the reason for it is plain — all we have to do is look into our own hearts and we find the desire to become, in the words of the poet William Ernest Henley, “the master of my fate… the captain of my soul.”

We are striving for freedom, which also means: to become ever more responsible for our lives together. We’re striving for social forms that will allow all of us to fully develop our capacities, to truly participate in our shared governance, and to work for one another, not as cogs in a machine, but as “essential workers.” Everyone has come here to serve in some essential capacity; no one has come here to create junk or to scam. We just haven’t found the social forms to really engage people yet.

At the beginning of the last century, the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner described the holistic nature of society, and the social forms necessary to give full scope to human development at this point in time. His body of work is often referred to as “social threefolding” because of its focus on the relationship of culture, politics, and economics.

In the last couple years, I created a year-long, distance-learning course in social threefolding through the organization EduCareDo. The curriculum includes Steiner’s foundational social ideas, as well as exercises and suggested activities. The course is self-directed — you can start at any time and work at your own pace — and every participant has a tutor along the way.

And this year I’m trying something new: I’m launching an online monthly study group for anyone taking the course (which is actually two study groups — one centered on American time, and one on Australian time). If you want more info on the curriculum, check out the course page. And if you want more info on the study group(s), just email me at thewholesocial@substack.com.

If you’re planning to participate, I’d recommend registering by the first week of October (for the American group, the Australian one starts a little later). And if you can’t register by then, it’s probably no problem, you’ll just have to play a little catch-up.

I look forward to working with you, and please reach out if you have any questions.

Seth