from http://www.threefolding.freeuk.com/intro.htm
What is Social Threefolding? Even a cursory examination of global societies reveals that they all have three functions or spheres of activity under which all other social activities can be subsumed: cultural sphere rights sphere economic sphere All three spheres are mutually interdependent and before we make conscious their functional differences and give each their dues are intermingled often in ways which make for an unhealthy body social. By the 'cultural sphere' we mean that which enters human society through the unfettered exercising of human spiritual activity such as thinking, moral judgement and being creative. Here we include all the arts, scientific research, religion, education, invention and enterprise. By the 'rights sphere' we mean all that human beings in a society -- local, national or global -- agree to as the fundamental rights between one another in all their interactions. This embraces lawmaking, governance and representation of the people and coincides with political life in its purest form. By the 'economic sphere' we mean transformation of the products of nature into products suitable for use by human beings. Everything from the acquisition of the products of nature (e.g. mining, hunting) to farming, manufacturing, trade and end use (consumption) is part of this sphere. To each of these three spheres belongs its proper Leitmotif or ideal: * cultural sphere -- freedom (Liberté) * rights sphere -- equity, equality (Egalité) * economic sphere -- brotherhood, solidarity (Fraternité) In this functional differentiation of the three spheres lies the whole significance of threefolding the social organism. If the ideal of one sphere is misapplied in one of the others the social organism is rendered unhealthy. Three out of many examples will adequately illustrate this. If the rights sphere, the sphere of governance, determines the school curriculum, freedom in education is compromised. If freedom is assigned to the economic sphere, because of the the very nature of economic activity the most uncaring acts are perpetrated, usually against the weaker members of society. And, to take a more extreme but no less thinkable example, much of a society's capacity for wealth creation would be compromised if the use of the means of economic productivity -- land for instance -- were to be shared equally between all members of that society instead of assigning it to those best able to make good use of it. In addition to the three fundamental functional differentiations of the social organism a whole complex of interrelations exists, just as in the individual human organism the activities of thinking, feeling and willing are interdependent.1 The economic sphere, which is nowadays increasingly global, needs its governance. The process of making laws requires the exercising of moral judgement. Indeed, the ideals embodied in laws arise out of the moral intuitions, the free spiritual activity, of individuals. Cultural life cannot survive without the gifts given to it that arise from the wealth created in economic life. One only has to think of education, research institutes or churches. Freedom in education or religion cannot flourish unless guaranteed as a right. Wealth creation needs the input of spiritually active, i.e. creative, individualities such as inventors or entrepreneurs. Many other interrelations could be added which singly or taken together do not compromise the functional differentiation of the three spheres. This short essay serves only as an introduction to threefolding the social organism. The ideas put forward here are by themselves not new amongst certain thinkers about society. Indeed the mottoes Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité are easily recognisable as those which inspired the French Revolution. And there is more than a hint of the desirability of letting each sphere of the social organism manifest its proper ideal in Goethe's fairy tale The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily in which he portrays 'mixed king' as weak. For a more thorough treatment of social threefolding please see the articles and books sections of this web site and above all Rudolf Steiner's book Towards Social Renewal (Rudolf Steiner Press, London, 1977) Note 1. For an account of the threefold nature of the human being see Owen Barfield's The Case for Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner Press, 1970 which contains a translation part of Rudolf Steiner's Von Seelenrätseln (1917, GA21). This translation is out of print, but the essential part can be found on Sune Nordwall's web site at http://hem.passagen.se/thebee/Steiner/workmaterial.htm
