One way of expressing what makes the work and the legacy of Rudolf Steiner so vitally important today is its positive approach to the “problems” and “deficiencies” of our shared world. Quite apart from the actual indications given by Rudolf Steiner in the various fields of work, whether medical, educational, agricultural, social, or artistic, is an underlying approach that seeks, without exception, to heal, to improve, to make better, to add—never to subtract, knock down, put down, negate. Already in 1905, speaking on the theme of “Brotherhood and the Struggle for Existence,” he asserted, quite simply:
One who has immersed himself in spiritual science knows that in any field of life, struggle never leads to any true results. Try, without fighting the opponent, to introduce into life, to assert, what you in your experience and through your cognition have found to be correct.
In other words, true progress and healing are only possible through positive action—placing the good into the world —and not through continually focusing on, opposing, and fighting the “not good,” which is to engage it on its own terms. This approach to life, taken seriously, is radically different from the pictures we are normally presented with, which are so often crudely dualistic: shown, ultimately, as a struggle between good and evil. Here, while the existence of evil is in no way denied, the aim is not to engage, fight, defeat, and cast it into the abyss, but to redeem it; which is to say, to redeem ourselves of it.
This same perspective is also alive in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words on violence and hate:
Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
In 1928, when the Anthroposophic Press, Inc. (now more commonly known as SteinerBooks) was incorporated as a non-profit, its object was stated without adornment: To promote the progress and welfare of humanity and for that purpose to publish and distribute the books and writings of Rudolf Steiner, and other anthroposophical literature, and not for pecuniary profit.
This is still today our primary purpose and reason for existing as an organization: to positively affect the world by publishing books that have changed lives for the better, and have enormous potential to continue to do so. Each new book we publish as part of The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner in English series, for instance, is a single doorway into an expansive, positive, healing worldview with real potential to change the world.
We believe that individuals are looking for deeper understanding and a positive path forward, now, with an urgency befitting the times. In response, we commit ourselves, with enthusiasm and resolve, to our core mission. Our main aim in the coming years is to bring out as many never-before-translated volumes of Rudolf Steiner’s collected works as possible, while continuing to publish and promote the works of other anthroposophical writers. We are well-situated to do this and confident in our ability to follow through with our intention. But to do so, we will need the continued goodwill and support of the diverse community of individuals who recognize that this aim is a worthy one.
If you would share this vision with us, please click the GIVE button below, and, please, be in touch.
with Gratitude,
John-Scott Legg