A project dedicated to exploring the holistic nature of society and addressing social issues at a fundamental level.
In a recent Times/Siena poll, 55% of respondents said our social systems need "major changes" and 14% said they should be "torn down entirely." But what would replace them? What would major changes even look like?
I addressed this question from the viewpoint of 's . You can find the article here: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/most-americans-think-the-system-is-broken
There seems to be a certain buzz around polyamory at the moment, but what's it all about? Is it really the future of relationships?
Here are my thoughts:
What today's fascination with "open relationships" says about the evolution of society
Here's the summary of my new audio article:
It’s not easy to work together. There’s a tension in it: Sometimes we want to be together — we find it inspiring and easier to get things done — but sometimes we want to be alone — we want freedom. So which side is right?
Of course both sides are right, but also neither of them, because what we’re really looking for is something we won’t find with a few superficial changes — there’s no perfect hybrid model. In reality, the whole nature of working together in organizations has to be understood at a much deeper level. The social insights of the 20th century social reformer, Rudolf Steiner, are invaluable for developing this understanding.
You can listen to it here: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/listen-rudolf-steiner-on-building-healthy-orgs
Or read the article here: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/rudolf-steiner-on-building-healthy-organizations
An audio version of the article
Here's the summary of my new audio article:
It’s not easy to work together. There’s a tension in it: Sometimes we want to be together — we find it inspiring and easier to get things done — but sometimes we want to be alone — we want freedom. So which side is right?
Of course both sides are right, but also neither of them, because what we’re really looking for is something we won’t find with a few superficial changes — there’s no perfect hybrid model. In reality, the whole nature of working together in organizations has to be understood at a much deeper level. The social insights of the 20th century social reformer, Rudolf Steiner, are invaluable for developing this understanding.
You can listen to it here: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/listen-rudolf-steiner-on-building-healthy-orgs
Or read the article here: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/rudolf-steiner-on-building-healthy-organizations
Understanding the fundamentals of working together — from the school to the factory
An "epidemic" of loneliness, a loss of family and friends, political polarization - these are all expressions of our slide into the antisocial. So how do we consciously balance it with the social? Answers can be found in the architecture of and . Article here: thewholesocial.substack.com/p/the-social-architecture-of-riken-yamamoto
I gave a talk earlier this month in Toronto. If you want to watch or listen to it, you can do so here: thewholesocial.substack.com/p/how-can-we-bring-health-to-society
Also, I'm trying to reach 50 monthly donors by the end of March and I'm at 47... If you want to make a monthly contribution to my writing (can be as low as $1 per month) you can do so here: ko-fi.com/sethjordan
We've got the schedule all ironed out for the upcoming Practical Threefolding conference. Hope you can make it! https://threefolddriftless.substack.com/p/schedule-for-practical-threefolding
Truthfully, I find Steiner's ideas about organizational development somewhat shocking. He never laid them out in one place, but he did give indications to different professional groups. The picture that emerges emphasizes two things: empowering individual workers and, at the same time, bringing about real inner unity in the whole workforce. And he describes the whole thing in such a living, organic way... it's beautiful. So I wrote an article about it: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/rudolf-steiner-on-building-healthy-organizations
Our spring session of Practical Threefolding will give us the opportunity to roll up our sleeves and engage with a wide array of social entrepreneurs whose work is in some way aligned with the values and insights of social threefolding. There will be several public events, as well as a number of more intimate sessions where we can deep dive into the work of these pioneering individuals and also strive to see the larger societal transformation that such work seeks to usher in. Everyone is welcome!
For more info: threefolddriftless.substack.com/p/practical-threefolding-come-explore
Some highlights of the weekend include:
- A Friday night presentation by Michael Draskovic of the Democracy Policy Network on “Reimagining Policymaking as a Cultural Activity”
- A Saturday night panel of Driftless-based social entrepreneurs working in the community investment, food, and agriculture space
- An exploration of “Steward Ownership” with Cecil Wright of Maple Valley Coop
Join us! - threefolddriftless.substack.com/p/practical-threefolding-come-explore
Are we a Christian country? Or a country built on diversity?
Many conservatives say we're Christian but then champion freedom... which can only mean folks are free to believe whatever they want.
Many liberals say we’re diverse but then champion standardized, ideologically-uniform public schools.
Both miss the fundamental link between freedom & diversity - we can't have one w/o the other. And very few see the glaring reality that a state-run school system violates the principle of diversity as well as the essential freedom enshrined in the 1st amendment.
They fail to see that PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
I just recorded an audio version of a recent article on this topic.
The article is here: thewholesocial.substack.com/p/school-choice-separation-church-state.
And the audio version is here: thewholesocial.substack.com/p/listen-school-choice-separation-church-state
New article: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/the-only-solution-in-israel-palestine
College presidents under fire — what if the tables were turned?
In the last couple weeks, the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn have drawn intense criticism for what many have called their “legalistic” and “evasive” responses to a “simple yes or no question” by congresswoman Elise Stefanik. She asked each of them, in turn, whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated their college’s rules on harassment? Their response: It depends on the context.
While this answer might seem infuriating to some, we can ask: How should they have responded? Was any other response possible? Just imagine that the tables were turned and Stefanik was asked the same question — whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates her state’s rules (laws) on harassment? She’d have to respond the same way: It depends on the context.
The question simply isn’t black or white. For instance, does intention matter? What if a white professor jokingly tweets “All I want for Christmas is white genocide,” as happened in 2018? Should he be disciplined? And what exactly constitutes a call for genocide? The only example that Stefanik referenced was the chant, “There’s only one solution: intifada, revolution.” But Palestinians and their supporters differ as to whether the revolution should be violent or nonviolent. So is intifada a call for genocide? Well, it’s possible some people mean it that way — it depends on whose saying it. The context matters.
The upside to this whole issue is that it has brought to light the glaring hypocrisy of college speech codes. Students and professors are disciplined for some types of speech — especially speech that offends the left — but not other types. There are inevitably double standards.
It’s also brought to light the endless hypocrisy of liberals and conservatives. In recent years, liberals have fought to limit free speech in the name of safety, while conservatives have fought to expand it. With this issue they’ve flipped. The left’s cherished principle of safety and the right’s passionate cry for free speech have both been tossed out the window because they’re no longer convenient.
And really, thinking about these issues in terms of left and right is scrambling our brains. The time has come to let go of party allegiances and grab hold of the principles themselves. The reality is that speech codes simply don’t work. Safety doesn’t magically appear when people are forced to be silent. It’s an illusion. We can’t erase people’s views that way. In fact, suppression will only make them stronger. Safety only comes along the difficult road of freedom. It only comes by allowing people to air their differences and by creating a space to understand and resolve them. Hopefully this is the road that not only colleges, but all of us, will commit ourselves to taking in the future.
(This was a short note on the news that I recently wrote on my Substack: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/notes-on-the-news-4-college-trump-scammers. For some insightful articles on this issue, see Nico Perrino’s article on the FIRE website, and Bret Stephen’s op-ed in the New York Times.)
Hey all - because Facebook doesn't distribute posts from Pages unless you pay to boost them, it doesn't really make sense to continue updating this page. No one ever sees it. If you're seeing this message and want to know what The Whole Social is publishing, I'd recommend going to the website itself and subscribing. All the best!
A project to help us see society whole and make sense of the deeper dynamics behind current events, especially drawing on Rudolf Steiner’s insights into the threefold nature of society (often called “social threefolding”). Click to read The Whole Social, by Seth Jordan, a Substack publication ...
What role, if any, should our cultural identity have in how we're judged in a court of law? A significant role, according to the 20th century philosopher ...
We always talk about "equality before the law," but it's time to start asking what role an individual's culture should play in our understanding of justice.
We missed our birthday by a week or two, but here's a little progress report on the first year of TWS.
Some thoughts on a year of writing and what's to come
All across the US, people are fighting for higher wages, but is it effective? Isn't it just counteracted by inflation? Even worse - doesn't it just lead to inflation? When we start to grasp the "wage-price spiral," then we can see that our existing social initiatives don't actually work and never will be - they're too short-sighted. If we want to ensure every human being has what they need to live a decent live and not just scrape by, then we have to start thinking bigger: https://thewholesocial.substack.com/p/listen-a-crucial-lesson-of-the-great-resignation
A narrated version of the article
Reporters are delighted that "sleeping Europe" is starting to wake, which just means: there's a new global arms race. But there's no hope in that direction. We have to go to the sources where true hope lies.
Much of the reporting on Ukraine focuses on the horror of what’s happening, but at times one can also catch a glimmer of hope, a feeling of excited optimism that things might just turn out for the better. There’s the view, for instance, that after years of democratic backsliding, this might be t...
And now for something a bit different - a short story about society's turn towards a healthy relationship of government, culture, and business, after all the "crypto fantasies and partisan rancor have burst."
A short story about new beginnings in society - about finding what's real after our crypto fantasies and partisan rancor have burst.
"...We can’t actually strengthen or educate people by forcing them to think and do certain things. It’s a losing proposition. We have to leave them free.
I know that to many people that just sounds like right-wing “live free or die” nonsense, but it’s not. It’s the very spirit of the scientific pursuit, and we’re losing it. It’s being replaced by the idol of scientific consensus. Today, when we hear someone say “Take Nobody’s Word For It,” it sounds like some anti-vaxxer bumper sticker and not the motto of the world’s oldest national scientific institution, the Royal Society in London (“Nullias in verba”).
This is from The Whole Social's latest article, "Can we have both medical freedom and public safety?" You can find it in the comments below.
Does society have it's own nature, it's own lawfulness? Is it more like an organism, and less like a machine?
Here's a narrated version of "Society's open secret," an article I showing the organism nature of society that can be found in 's latest book *Capital and Ideology,* as well as throughout 's work. Unfortunately, social scientists aren't even close to grasping the full implications of this understanding, which is essential if we want to transform society in a healthy way. Here's hoping they do. Here's hoping we all do.
This article explores how society has its own nature and lawfulness — a fact borne out by the observations of social scientists, but still almost entirely misunderstood (to the detriment of us all). This lawfulness was described most recently by the French economist Thomas Piketty and most clearly...
Everything we do economically is tied to everyone else, so we have to stop with the short-sighted, one-off fixes, and try to think holistically instead. No where is this more obvious then when it comes to what's called the "wage price spiral" - the fact that when people get wage increases it leads to price increases, which then lead to wage increases, which lead to price increases... that is, unless we can think the bigger picture and cut costs elsewhere. This moment of the Great Resignation can hopefully help us see these things and start working in new ways.
The current moment finally has us talking about one of the most important and overlooked phenomena in economics... and ultimately points to the dire need for a more holistic approach.
For anyone interested, here's an audio version of the recent article "Welcome back to work. Now please hold still while we put your collar and leash back on."
A narrated version of the article
It seems like everyone is concerned about “misinformation” and “fake news,” but why? What does it do? What are its effects upon us? This is the “anatomy” of a lie that I’m interested in — how an untruth reverberates through us and shapes our society.
In order to trace these effects, I want to look at a single lie. It’s certainly not the biggest or most important one — from what I can tell, it’s just a drop in the bucket...
In this "post-truth" era, what's the significance of one itty-bitty falsehood?
If you're interested in diving deeper into Rudolf Steiner's social insights, now's your chance. EduCareDo's Transforming Society course can be taken at any time, but this year there will be an accompanying year-long online study group. The group starts soon, so see the announcement below for more info.
Will our leaders save us? And should they? Many people have recognized a movement in human history from more fixed and hierarchical social forms, to more fluid and egalitarian ones. And the reason for it is plain — all we have to do is look into our own hearts and we find the desire to become, in ...
Just wanted to let everyone know that I changed the name of Moral Spring to The Whole Social. My goal with this page (since I've taken charge of it) has always been to create a space for looking at the news through the lens of Rudolf Steiner's social insights, what's often called "threefolding" because it focuses on the interaction between culture, politics, and economics. I've wanted a space where a broader perspective, a broader conversation about society could emerge.
This page hasn't done a great job of that, and truthfully, I don't have much hope that such a conversation can even really take place on FB. Maybe for moments, but it feels like FB is such an unintentional space - everything is fighting for your attention and the algorithm just feeds on drama and sensation. (Also, if you have a page like this, FB always want you to "boost" your posts by paying them money. It just all feels so dirty...!)
Anyways, I've started actually posting the kind of articles I've always wanted to see on this page on my new website, The Whole Social. I figured it would still be good to share them here though, so that's why I've changed the name. It's born from the same spirit, but has a different name and also a new impulse. I'd be happy to engage with folks on FB, if that's where you want to engage, but I'd be even more interested in engaging on that website itself.
So I invite to go check it out. I'll put the link to it in the comments below (that's another thing about FB - I feel like it never moves a post where you're just sharing a link, but is much happier if you post a statement or picture, so that's what I'm going to do with this post in the hope that it reaches more of you). All the best, and I look forward to building this work with you!
- Seth Jordan
A review of a new book by Thomas Piketty, the bestselling French economist, who describes early premodern societies in a surprising and fascinating way, and one that has huge implications for the present day. (Spoiler alert: it totally lays the groundwork for Rudolf Steiner's social threefolding.)
French economist Thomas Piketty is on the edge of a major discovery that would transform social life -- a breakthrough that was already made a century ago, but was completely ignored.
First of two articles on money in politics and democracy reform. (The first one touches on Trump, Obama and Steiner, and the next one looks at HR1, Open Democracy, and some sage advice from Gandhi, among other things...).
After Trump failed to drain the swamp and H.R. 1 stalled in the Senate, we should look more closely at how corporate interests pollute the political process, and how it might look if we clean it up.
The Whole Social is a new writing project on threefolding and current events. Here's the first article.
Conservative law-makers are passing bills they claim put an end to "indoctrination," while progressives are calling them "censorship." Who’s right?
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