In our modern time with a 24 hour news-feed and social media echo chambers, society is bombarded with catchwords: misinformation, disinformation, freedom fighters, insurrectionists, moderate rebels, election meddling, green this, clean that, sanctions on oligarchs, Putin sympathizers, roll up your sleeve stick it to ______, misogynists with unacceptable views etc. etc.. One may wonder what if any purpose does the continual repeating of the catchwords serve society or if the level of repetition has always been this intense.
Rudolf Steiner was a prolific writer making contributions in many fields including architecture, Waldrof education, philosophy and others. As is often the case when someone is talented and presents new concepts that challenge the status quo Steiner was seen as controversial by some. I came across a transcript of a public lecture delivered by Rudolf Steiner in Vienna just over 100 years ago mentioning the prevalence of catchwords and his perspective on what it means for the social condition. The following is an excerpt from the tail end of this lecture “The Tension between East and West GA83 Part 2 Anthroposophy and Sociology, 5. From Monolitihic to Threefold Unity. June 11, 1922 Vienna”.
“Only when we have learned to perceive the chaotic nature of social conditions that spring from the predominance of catchwords instead of truth in the spiritual sphere, convention instead of law in the political and legal sphere, and routine instead of a way of life in the economic sphere, shall we be seeing the problem clearly. ...........
.......What I am saying now, however, is based solely on what can be learned from reality itself with the aid of spiritual science, which is everywhere orientated towards reality. And it turns out that the fundamental questions of social life today are these:
How can we, by a correct articulation of the social organism, move from the all too prevalent catch-word (which is thrown up by the human personality when its creative spirit is subordinated to another) to truth, from convention to law, and from a routine existence to a real way of life?
Only when we realize that a threefold social organism is necessary for the creation of liberty, equality and fraternity, shall we understand the social problem aright. .....: Liberty in spiritual life, equality in political and legal life, and fraternity in economic life.”
One thing that is clear is that Steiner’s delivery is not necessarily as concise as a catchword and is designed to stimulate thought. I think Steiner is suggesting that prevalence and use of catchwords has an inverse relationship with society’s willingness to accept the truth. And given that he wrote these words just over 100 years ago perhaps the more things change the more they stay the same. Or do you have a choice in the matter?
Richard Marleau
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
