Society beyond Capitalism and Socialism - Rudolph Steiner’s Threefold Social Order

[Hayato]

The Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner developed the idea of the Threefold Social Order (TSO). He developed the idea from studying the human body. He noticed it has 3 distinct systems, the nervous system, circulatory system and digestive & motor system. Just like the body, society has 3 spheres: Rights sphere, Economic Sphere, Cultural Sphere. For the idea to work these 3 spheres must be autonomous and self-governing.

The Rights sphere includes: Government, Courts, Constitution, Rights, Military, Police

The Economic sphere includes: Farms, Factories, Banks, Real Estate, Shops, Transport

The Cultural sphere includes: School/Universities, Art, Music, Theatre, Science, Religion, Spirituality, Media, Health care

 

The Rights sphere is defined by the principle of equality: one person one vote, equal rights and laws for everyone regardless of wealth, or status.

The Economic sphere is defined by the principle of Brotherhood: the economy is based on meeting needs, not profits.

The Cultural sphere is defined by the principle of Freedom: no interference from the other 2 spheres.

 

For example both socialism and capitalism seem like opposites, but they both are examples of the  unitary state where all 3 spheres are mixed and can influence each other. According to Steiner this is the cause of society’s problems.

 

When the Rights sphere influences the Cultural sphere we get: indoctrination, censorship, ideology, state controlled media

Examples are: Nazi Germany, North Korea, USSR

When the Rights sphere influences the Economic sphere we get: central planning, corruption, inefficiency

Examples: USSR, Venezuela

When the Economic sphere influences the Cultural sphere we get: corruption in academia, biased studies, sports betting epidemic, deceitful advertising, algorithmic click bait

Examples: Tobacco industry funding studies denying links to cancer, Gambling ads in the media, News serving corporate interests

When the Economic sphere influences the Rights sphere we get: oligarchy, corruption, lobbying, Inequality, Democracy is a theatre

Examples: 420 million donated to Trump’s campaign, private prisons, MIC lobbying for wars, opioid crisis

When the Cultural sphere influences the Rights sphere we get: dogma, theocracy, cancel culture, religious law

Examples: The Inquisition, Girl’s education banned by the Taliban

When the Cultural sphere influences the Economic sphere we get: Nepotism, Gatekeeping, Brand obsessions

Examples: Meme coins, Celebrity backed products that flopped

 

In the Threefold Social Order all of this will be gone.

No lobbying, politician’s campaigns will not be funded privately, but publically.

No advertisement in the media. This guarantees they can focus on the truth. The media will be funded by grants and public donations.

Parents will decide what their children are taught in schools.

 

One important detail is that the principle of equality is valid only in the Rights sphere and not the other 2 as everyone has different talents and earns a different amount of money.

The principle of brotherhood is valid only for the Economic sphere and not the other 2 because art is not meant to meet someone’s needs it is an artistic expression and the Rights sphere is about justice not compassion.

The principle of freedom is valid only for the Cultural sphere and not the other 2, because freedom in the Rights sphere would mean anarchy and in the Economic sphere it would mean exploitation.

I am very new to this concept and do not claim to understand it fully. There is much that I am not covering (aging money, types of money, associations etc.), but I feel that this could absolutely work.

[Hayato]

I originally posted this in the Politics section, no idea why it was moved to Spirituality. This is about political systems not enlightenment.

[Davino]

2 hours ago, Hayato said:

I originally posted this in the Politics section, no idea why it was moved to Spirituality. This is about political systems not enlightenment.

Solved it