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 World
Economy
14 lectures by Rudolf Steiner
At the end of the First World War, in striking
contrast to President Wilson’s ‘self-determination of nations’,
Rudolf Steiner was proposing for the rebuilding of Europe, the
division of the social organism into three separate spheres, dealing
respectively with cultural and educational affairs, with matters of
human rights, and with economics and production. Each sphere was to
have its own frontiers, character and objective, and the whole was
to offer the ground for a renewal of culture based on a social order
which is natural and intrinsic
to all life.
The lecture series, World Economy, deals principally with the
economic sphere, but it has also much to say concerning its relation
with, and dependence on, the other spheres as well.
Although the form in which Steiner first
developed his proposals for a ‘threefold commonwealth’ was oriented
towards Central Europe and the circumstances of the time, they are based
on deep insight into the new social and economic forces which were
then so plainly emerging but were so little understood.
The prevalent modes of thinking of the day were
not ready for Steiner’s
radical proposals; but today we are being forced by the inadequacy of
our social and economic institutions to look for solutions which grow
from a deep understanding of man himself. It is in the light of such
an understanding that Steiner approaches such crucial questions as
the relation of wages to production, the proper function of capital,
finance and the different forms of money; the ownership of land—and
many other matters of vital importance to our modern commercial
society. Behind this economic analysis stands the picture of a truly
human society, in which man can find himself as producer, as
citizen, and as free agent in harmony with his fellow men.
Trans:
A. O. Barfield, T. Gordon-Jones
14 lectures, Dornach 24 July to 6 Aug 1922, GA340
Rudolf Steiner Press
187pp; paperback
ISBN: 0 85440 266 7
See also:
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) called his spiritual philosophy
'anthroposophy', which he defined as 'the consciousness of one's
humanity', and the disciplined methods of studying this he termed
‘spiritual science’. As a highly developed clairvoyant and
spiritual initiate, he spoke from his direct cognition of the
spiritual world. However, he did not see his work as religious or
sectarian, but rather sought to found a universal 'science of the
spirit'.
His
many published works (written books and lectures) - which include
his research into the spiritual nature of the human being, the
evolution of the world and humanity, and methods of personal
development - invite readers to develop their own spiritual
faculties. He also provided indications for the renewal of
many human activities, including education - both general and
special - agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science,
philosophy, religion and the arts. He wrote some 30 books and
delivered over 6000 lectures across Europe, and in 1924 founded the
General Anthroposophical Society which today has branches throughout
the world.
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