 Rights Life The core and essential need of "rights life", as described in Rudolf Steiner's threefold social idea, is equality : that all adults be able to have a part in decisions that affect their rights and safety, be protected equally by any rules or laws established, and that no one have special advantages, exemptions or power over others in these universal human concerns. It also follows that rights life must eventually have corresponding forms and processes for its work, including - Forums to which all adults can have access or representation, in which rights and safety concerns can be aired and discussed. - Decision making processes, through which guiding principles and clarity can be established - for example - What rights and protections do all people need, and must they have ? - What constitutes an offense against these rights and protections ? - How can agreements and decisions be reached about these things - efficiently, yet still without undermining particiation and equality ? - How shall offenses be remedied - matters of identification or detection of offenses, justice and restitution - police and armies ? The following highlight some key current manifestations of these questions, in an I believe especially skillful and relevant way. In Focus : The WHO Pandemic Agreement This appeal, written by Dr Michaela Gloeckler for Alliance Eliant - the European Alliance for Applied Anthroposophy - enters with dignity and clarity into this field. It references Rudolf Steiner's threefold principles boldly and publicly, and makes a strong, healthy entry to the arena of "rights life", on the largest of public stages. An excellent, ongoing initiative, and I feel very well done ! Stop the WHO Power Grab An article from the organization Children's Health Defense. I feel this is another fine example of "rights life" in the sense of Steiner's threefold idea, done in a nonviolent way, and coming from a completely different direction and source, outside the anthroposophical movement. Not least, it includes an ingenious tool for direct participation in the rights process. It pleases me to see this, and also the common insights lighting up from different quarters. No matter how much is or isn't possible at this time, the crucial element is a cognitive and spiritual one : thoughts that can't be unthought, a light that can't be extinguished. Rudolf Steiner described the day of physical warfare and exercise of external power as having passed, and indicated the new field of battle must become spiritual warfare - the war of facts and ideas. This and the prevous initiative above might be seen as examples of the legitimate "swords, shields and spears" of the future. It's Not Over : The WHO's Relentless Power Grab From CHD TV, another production of Children's Health Defense. The crucial need in rights life, as noted above, is equality : that every adult have a say in his or her own rights and safety, a voice in decisions to be made, equal protection under any related laws. Again as noted, this requires forms and processes in which they can actively participate. Rights life, per Rudolf Steiner, is the appropriate task of government and of "politics" - in their healthiest form, simply discussions and negotiations among people about their rights. This video discussion, between two longtime observers of world health policy formation, outlines a kind of counter-process underway, to regulate health related rights and safety entirely from the top down - to effectively "manage" rights and enforce compliance on individuals worldwide, first of all through binding agreements with their governments. Governments may fail in their roles and responsibilities - but the rights needs of human beings remain. Where governments do fail, humanity has little choice but to either remind them of their tasks, or rebuild and "regrow" them from the ground up - if at first informally, eventually in new, more functional and permanent forms. Fortunately, the push for ever tighter control of consumer, civil and human rights, underway for decades, has been noted and steadily documented. I'm pleased to be able to witness this process. Painful as it may be to look at a sharp evil in the world, I hope you'll hear them out with open ears ! - Jeff Smith RN, Retired
0 Comments
 The Seed Nature of an Idea I was introduced to Rudolf Steiner's threefold social idea almost 45 years ago, and it's come to belong for me, in a good way, to the category of "thoughts I can't unthink". This started simply with a $3 pamphlet I picked up from a bookstore table. Over time this small seed has grown into quite a vigorous plant in me - and not one that's even needed much water or attention, in any external sense. If anything, once planted, enthusiasm for this surprising, "something new under the sun" perspective on human social life has seemed to grow on its own in me - and also to generate impulses to do something with the insights it brought. This far in, new shoots of ideas still sprout up in me all the time. Given a chance through honest interest and attention, in my experience, this is what Steiner's threefold idea does in the human being. What is it about the threefold idea, that yields this kind of growth and conviction ? It's really not more than a set of differentiated - but remarkably healthy and refreshing - observations about human social life : a modest extension of science into a new area, discerned systematically by Rudolf Steiner for the first time. In Overview This "threefold" perspective on society observes that human life unfolds in three core, recurring kinds of activity, each with its own needs, and its own requirements to be optimally healthy. Namely : - Economic life, encompassing processes of production, distribution and consumption in society, by which human beings meet their physical needs of life. Economic life requires constant, intelligent cooperation and communication in the realm of practical work, and an attitude of goodwill towards others, in order for the needs of all to be met. This mindset is quite diffent than the current view of profits and competition as the driving forces of economic life. - Rights or political life, through which we work out our human need for basic freedoms, protections and safety. The special need and requirement of rights life, Rudolf Steiner observed, is for equality among citizens : an equal voice in creating measures that protect civil and human rights, safety and dignity, equal protection under rules and measures thus established, and equal liability, in the case rules are broken - which is to say, that there be no special exemptions or exceptions from them. - Spiritual and cultural life, based in the gifts and abilities of each individual human being, which, developed and manifested in society, give rise to inventions and innovations, and to progress and wellbeing in all realms of life. This includes such fields as education, the healing arts, religion and spirituality ; but also the work of every profession, and any gift or ability in a person which, when developed, serves to benefit society. The special need of spiritual-cultural life is for freedom : the possibility to develop one's gifts and offer one's contributions, freely and unhindered ; and in turn to receive those of others. The limits of freedom in this sphere are that these activities not cause harm or injury to others. As each of these three spheres has needs in order to thrive, there are also circumstances that make it weak and unhealthy. The three spheres of course interact, and have relationships among them that, again, foster health or its opposite. Crucial to these relationships, for better or worse, are the boundaries among the three realms of social life ; and unhelpful entanglements among them into each other's affairs. Trespasses of roles and functions among the three spheres have evolved gradually, Steiner observes, and for the most part unnoticed in recent centuries ; but have for this reason become all the more destructive. The threefold idea, again, a set of meticulous social observations, raises these trespasses to the level of clear consciousness - often for the first time. As public discourse falls more deeply into blame, fears and hostility between people today, this perspective suggests causes and solutions in terms of the needs of rights, economic and cultural spheres, obstructed and thus frustrated. To disentangle and separate these spheres becomes a priority today, as a basis for their more appropriate and harmonious integration. New as this perspective is in the course of history, as challenging these needed separations, it raises the prospect of future social conflict, even social warfare, back into the realm of social problem solving - in these times, absolutely no small thing. To Look Deeper The Fullness of Life : New Articles on Rudolf Steiner's Threefold Social Idea \ "Something New Under the Sun" : Rudolf Steiner's Threefold Social Idea Book Review : "A Way Forward : From Social Illness to Social Health" Please share this page with friends ! |
AuthorJeff Smith RN, born 1950. A registered nurse since 1984 - but holistic in my outlook to health since probably around 1968. Living Waters Wellness considers not just the health of the physical body, but our soul and spirit, our social forms, our environment - and as a matter of fact, our whole earth. It's a new website, and a work in progress - but by all means, have a look around ! Archives
July 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed