The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project

Applying the Transformative Insights of Spiritual Science to Social Healing

Mark McGivern and Robert (Karp) Karbelnikoff

A powerful awakening of conscience is currently evident in North America that is seeking to bring about a new relationship of human beings to the earth through various ecological and climate-related initiatives, and of human beings to one another through various movements often associated with the term “social justice.” Once on the fringes of society, these movements have now become powerful mainstream forces shaping our day-to-day lives in deep and pervasive ways.

As hopeful and timely as these societal shifts are, it is important to look beneath the surface to the worldview, principles, and practices that many leaders of these movements have adopted to realize their goals. Just as Steiner offered alternatives to the reigning political ideologies of his time, we feel similarly called to carefully discern the direction in which ecological and social movements are seeking to take society, and to ask ourselves questions such as: How can anthroposophy serve the healthy social impulses that are rising up in human souls at this time? How is Michael working, or not working, in these movements?

The mainstream social justice movement, for example, claims to offer a philosophy and method for redressing the wrongs done to groups of people that have long been discriminated against and marginalized by society. This movement shares with anthroposophy a “postmodern” stance toward social progress, i.e., it recognizes that the roots of the modern world lie in the Enlightenment period and that a new paradigm of social progress is required to deal with the overwhelming problems modernity has manifested.

Unlike anthroposophy, which locates the source of these problems in the continued adherence of the modern world to materialism, today’s social justice movement has embraced a deeper connection with materialism to address these issues. For example:

» The one-sided thinking produced by materialism has led the social justice movement to the perspective that “all knowledge is a construct of power”— made, not discovered. As such, truth and objectivity are oppressive illusions.

» The misuse of power produced by unchecked individual and collective egoism has led the social justice movement to the belief that the factors determining social life can all be reduced to power relationships.

» Recognizing the role that group identities such as gender and race can play in social life has led the social justice movement to the perspective that individuality is at best irrelevant to positive social progress and at worst nothing more than another oppressive illusion.

These conclusions amount to a much deeper materialistic view of the human being and the social realm than social justice movements of the past century.

Through idealism, pressure, and/or ignorance, many anthroposophical organizations in North America and elsewhere are now adopting these perspectives by working with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training programs and directives based on this philosophy. We believe the adoption of these approaches is contributing significantly to the erosion of the spiritual foundations, identity, and viability of the Anthroposophical Movement. Is there a better way forward?

Our movement has so much to offer and to learn through collaboration and cross-fertilization with other social and ecological movements. Clearly, Michael is at work in our time in millions of people and movements all around the globe. It would be a tragedy if we stayed inside our bubble and failed to reach out and find our Michaelic colleagues. We could call this tragic tendency sectarianism But it would be equally tragic to graft social philosophies and agendas onto anthroposophy and onto our organizations that have no true inner relationship to Michael.

At the Christmas Conference of 1923/24, Rudolf Steiner pointed to two social-moral qualities that we need to cultivate, combine, and harmonize in order to realize the impulse of the Christmas Conference. He called these “true and genuine esotericism” and “the greatest conceivable openness.”1 Are these not precisely the two quali- ties that are needed to bring healing and balance to the tendencies toward grafting and sectarianism , which are so prevalent throughout our movement at this time?

1 See, for example, Rudolf Steiner’s words on p. 99 of The Christmas Conference (Anthroposophic Press, 1990), GA 260, December 26, 1923, 10am.

Inspired by this impulse of the Christmas Conference, the Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project is seeking to help our movement chart a middle way forward so that in the coming years we can bring a strong and decisive contribution to the positive social change our world so desperately needs. Anthroposophy, for example, shares the humanistic dimension of the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion—from a certain perspective, these are in fact the goals of the consciousness-soul era. But like the ideals of the French Revolution that wound up leading to violence and bloodshed rather than genuine social progress, we might ask: Can these lofty ideals and hopes for marginalized peoples be achieved without an understanding of the threefold nature of the human being and of social life as a whole?

The purpose of The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project is to articulate a new foundation for social change and social justice work through a different “postmodern” understanding of the human being and society. From this ground, we are developing new approaches to DEI philosophy, principles, and practices that can be used in Waldorf schools, anthroposophical organizations, and in the wider world. Through this effort, we hope to bring strength, intellectual clarity, and true practicality to the powerful Michaelic strivings at work in society at large and in our anthroposophical organizations.

To learn more about The Anthroposophy and Social Justice Project, to join our mailing list, or to become a collaborator in this work, please visit our website at anthrosocialjustice.org

Robert (Karp) Karbelnikoff is a consultant, writer, educator, and former director of the Biodynamic Association in the US. You can learn more about Robert’s work and read many of his writings, including his essay “Social Justice in the Light of Anthroposophy” on his website at www.robertkarp.net

Mark McGivern is author of Tolkien’s Hidden Pictures: Anthroposophy and the Enchantment in Middle Earth published by SteinerBooks. He is a former Waldorf class teacher, a writer and editor, a mentor in Foundation Studies for Rudolf Steiner Career College in Toronto, and communications director for the Anthoposophical Society in Canada.