Anthroposophy and Ecofascism 92

Continuing my commentary on the 28th paragraph of Peter Staudenmaier's Anthroposophy and Ecofascism.

Steiner's views on the origins of the First World War are complex, but flatly contrary to Peter Staudenmaier's claims included an acknowledgement of the imperialistic rivalry among the European powers, the unhealthy influence of fanatical nationalism – something Steiner opposed throughout his life – and unbounded militarism. Steiner also mentioned British Freemasons, but the influence Steiner attributes to them, while not insignificant, is also not decisive. I refer the interested reader to chapter 35 of Christoph Lindenberg's biography,* or Steiner's own statements on the subject, given among other places in a series of lectures titled "The Karma of Untruthfulness", a title that concisely summarizes Steiner's view of the ultimate cause of the conflagration.** Steiner lived through the war and spoke and wrote extensively on the subject.

* Lindenberg, Christoph. Rudolf Steiner: Eine Biographie. Stuttgart: Verlag Freies Geistes Leben, 1997 pages 572-587.

** To Steiner, nationalism and militarism were symptoms of an underlying materialistic trend that he felt was largely responsible for the course of the war. Steiner's relationship with the von Moltkes is well documented, and I refer the interested reader to the excellent book Light For The New Millennium; Rudolf Steiner's Association With Helmuth And Eliza von Moltke edited by T. H. Meyer, as well as Annika Mombauer's Helmuth von Moltke and the Origins of the First World War (Cambridge University Press, 2001 pages 52, 53, 263, 264 and 274).