As I prepare for my fellowship at RSF Social Finance (please reach out to see how you can support this endeavor), much of my research has focused on the man from which the organization is named...Rudolph Steiner. To say that Steiner is nothing short of genius is an understatement as his knowledge and writings spanned a multitude of topics and disciplines. The most intriguing of these topics, his economic construct known as the Threefold Social Organism.
Each segment of the whole is essential to the vitality of human existence however, Steiner's unique view of each of these segments is that they should be distinct and independent from each other, a vastly different approach from today's interdependent constructs of economics, policy and culture. Steiner's Economic Life thesis is of particular interest for those looking for wholesale systems change through the democratization of the global economic framework by changing underlying mindsets and the deployment of technological solutions.
The implementation and the management of Steiner's Threefold Social System could in theory be run on the blockchain. Let's take a look at each of these segments and how Steiner's vision could come true through technological innovations such as the blockchain.
Economic Life
Steiner saw economic life as "an activity that is organized and carried out in a spirit of brotherhood to meet the needs of ALL human beings." 1 He also envisioned economic activity falling under the hypothesis of the Law of True Price. The Law of True Price is achieved "when a man receives, as counter-value for the product he has made, an amount sufficient to enable him to satisfy the whole of his needs, including of course the needs of his dependents, until he will again have completed a like product". 2 Steiner also believed that the concept of a "wage" was illusory which did not reflect the TRUE value of the production output of each individual.
Cryptocurrency and the blockchain could bring this theory to life from two perspectives 1) The Law of True price could be reflected in the blockchain due to the technology's core concept of transparency and the near impossibility of price or market manipulation and 2) the concept of YOUR market value via an assigned wage given to you by a business/corporation is eviscerated as your market value is fluid and dynamically driven via the blockchain/cryptocurrency construct (Steemit). This allows us to discover our TRUE value to humanity without the hierarchal constraints assigned to us by concentrated power centers. Lastly, Mr. Steiner's view, in theory disaggregates power away from large, powerful entities back to the individual and in a sense makes the concept of economics local. Call it isolationism or localism, we are seeing an increased vigor in transacting, investing and giving in our local communities throwing aside the inefficiencies of the current systems which has created a host of social ills which include the destruction of our planet, income inequality and poverty and the deterioration of our humaness.
Legal Life
The Legal Life domain is also known as the political or rights domain. For Steiner, the legal domain is reserved ONLY for human beings and not business entities. The establishment of businesses as legal entities has established many challenges to the current human condition and could be ripe for a reboot as we currently see the political system and it's political actors working more for special interests and corporations as opposed to the constituents that elected them.
While Steiner was headed in the right direction in terms representation, we can explore the use of the blockchain to ensure that our politicians are acting in good faith and that the policies implemented are efficacious. This would involve a new social contract between governments and the people. This would take political courage that is way beyond the realm of our current stock of politicians. We may see the DAWNing of a new era of self-government through the use of technology. This could result in either a utopian or dystopian existence depending on the evolution of the technology and the social contracts used to govern us in to the foreseeable future.
Cultural Life
While Steiner's concept of Cultural Life may be a bit more nebulous and far-reaching as it touches on subjects such as science, art, religion and medicine, the blockchain may not necessarily be the framework to drive these pursuits but it will be BECAUSE of the blockchain that we could focus more on these modalities specifically art and religion. Imagine freedom from the daily pursuits of political and economic power to focus on our inner-selves. The greatest mysteries of the universe still reside from within despite popular media's take that our greatest discoveries lie beyond our planet in the mundane world. We are beginning to see a renewed awareness, an acknowledgment that the powers that be have hidden from us our true individual cosmic power. It could be because of the knock on effects of the blockchain that we could begin our en-masse journey towards individual enlightenment and the realization of our true purpose in this realm and the many others that we may journey through.
Rudolf Steiner and Economics. Accessed June 13, 2017. https://www.rudolfsteinerweb.com/Rudolf_Steiner_and_Economics.php.
Ibid.
I was just inviting another group of Steiner fans over to the platform. Very Synchronistic if I do say...