The New Economics

Last night, I went to a lecture by Jac Hielema of Economy Transformers on the new economics. It was life changing even for me who have been studying this for several years now. Extraordinarily, Jac and his colleagues in the Netherlands have managed to put this into tangible practice. I’d like to tell you a little about what I have learned thus far.

Why the need for a new economics?

Whether you are rich, poor, or in between, do you feel the world is moving in a positive direction economically? This is not a political question but merely a practical one. The cost of living in both the United States and Canada have skyrocketed through the roof since COVID. The wealth gap has never been greater. Countries fight wars constantly over land and resources.

Yet, to this day no satisfying economic system has been implemented and maintained on a large scale. In pre-communism Russia, self-organizing worker parties (the original “soviets”) were meeting and brainstorming a new way to work and do business. Then, the violent and materialistic Bolsheviks took over. They took the effort into a dark place and derailed it, killing more people than even the Nazis. America has arguably enjoyed a sunnier outcome in capitalism. As Jac pointed out last night, however, capitalism has evolved to mistake true freedom for unlimited acquisition. The result has become a system that increasingly grinds the common people between the gears of material lack and top-down government control.

Have either communism or our version of corporate capitalism crafted a society where everybody is free and supported in the development and expression of their unique human gifts? Surely, that is a rhetorical question. We have failed as a society in this regard. It’s not for a lack of striving, but I argue we have not yet implemented an effective ideology. On the contrary, we have fallen prey to the adversarial forces who wish to derail humanity from our natural progress which shall provide the opportunity and means for each individual to unfold their uniqueness.

Free, Equal, Together

These three concepts form the basis of Jac’s ideology which is synonymous with Rudolf Steiner’s Threefold Social Order. “Free” means that each determines themselves from within, not from without. In such a case, neither the government, nor a dogmatic version of religion, nor any other external force tells you what you are. You determine this out of yourself.

“Together” means that we realize we, as a society, are one indivisible organism. Then, we think and act accordingly. In other words, we wouldn’t straight pipe factory waste into the river because it will negatively affect the whole. “Together” and “free” form an interesting polarity. How can we at once freely determine ourselves from within while thinking and acting in a socially conscious way? It is possible. In fact, Jac shared his experience that when people get clear on who they really are and risk sharing that with the group, the group inevitably meets them with enthusiastic support.

“Equal” is the blue that bonds “together” and “free.” It is the process of meeting one another in true relationship, and this requires wakefulness. This is where the magic happens because instead of governments telling people how to relate, they determine it together. It’s the social contract fully realized. This doesn’t mean government has no role. Rather, its role becomes the support of human relationships in society, not the top-down dictation of how we can and cannot live.

What do the new economics have to do with homeschooling?

Back in August, I wrote a post about the new economics in education, called The Threefold Social Order in Education. In this article, I expanded on the Threefold Social Order and give some practical tips to apply it in your curriculum. I also discussed where I applied it in mine at Enkindle Academy.

The thing is, business, indeed, makes the world go round. Anybody who thinks otherwise is not seeing reality. It’s just like how your metabolism provides your body the energy it needs so you can thrive and become your true self. For this reason, I love training young entrepreneurs, which is why I’m doing an Entrepreneurship for Youth class this summer. Rudolf Steiner foretold that the initiates who would lead society in our time would emerge from the business realm.

That being said, therefore, the way we do business and teach our homeschoolers to do it matters a great deal. Our current models have not created a world that works for everyone but for a decreasing few. Dr. Steiner also remarked that World War I broke out in Europe because a Threefold Social Order could not be established. While that sounds grim, it means we can change the future. Let’s do that by establishing together with our youth a new economics based on free, equal, and together.