The Rudolf Steiner Archive

101. The Threefold Social Order

[ 1 ] Following a series of lectures in Stuttgart, Dr. Steiner spoke here last Sunday—at the request of the Esslingen workers—in the Kugelsaal about the threefold social order, and, as everywhere else, he received extremely enthusiastic and heartfelt applause. In his two-hour lecture, he provided a profound analysis of how the divide between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat arose and grew ever deeper. The worker was certainly aware of the various schools of thought within the bourgeois class, but had no share in that luxurious intellectual life. Just as philosophy had once been the handmaiden of theology, science later became the cult of the state. The intellectual institutions produced people who could certainly think about the proletariat but were incapable of thinking alongside the proletariat. The state did not allow intellectual freedom to flourish, and so it came to pass that people in heated salons talked at length about brotherhood and morality, while in England’s coal mines children were forced to labor, going six full days without seeing the sun, and half-naked women worked alongside completely naked men in the shafts. The worker owes it not to the bourgeoisie that he has now achieved somewhat better living conditions, but solely to his own strength. Time and again, the proletarian asked himself: “Do I lead a dignified life?” and he must answer the question with a “no”; at the same time, he asks himself: “How can I achieve a dignified life?” Deep in his heart, he feels that economic life contains something that does not belong there: his labor power. Even though the worker no longer has to sell his entire body as a slave did in the past, he must sell his labor power—and with it, himself. It is therefore urgently necessary to separate economic life from legal life. Before the proletarian begins work, the scope, duration, and nature of the work must already be determined. Economic life should consist solely of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods. Legal life must be built on a democratic foundation, ensuring equality and public law; the intellectual sphere, however, encompasses everything related to intellectual life. A cry for liberty, equality, and fraternity resounds throughout the world. But now [intelligent] people have proven that these three cannot coexist, and they were right. Only by dividing the state into three branches—legal, economic, and intellectual life—can true freedom, equality, and brotherhood exist. The new era demands a different way of thinking than the past; it requires strong ideas and courageous will.

[ 2 ] After the meeting concluded, its chair, Dr. Steiner, expressed his warmest thanks and then read a resolution calling for Dr. Steiner’s immediate appointment to the government so that the threefold social order could be implemented without delay. Those present—about 2,000 people—enthusiastically and unanimously approved this resolution. S. D.