Anthroposophy, Politics, Science: A Warning commentary by Richard G. Fried, MD Although the 2020 presidential election is over, the deep divide in the fabric of American society will likely persist for years to come. The greatest risk to our future lies in the erosion of truth as a basis for finding common ground in almost all areas of public and private life in America. Due in part to the growth and proliferation of social and broadcast media, some of which have deliberately caused widespread confusion and dissention by promoting conspiracy theories as a substitute for truth, what was once more or less a fringe movement has metastasized during the past four years, and we stand at the brink of the destruction of our social contract, risking a lapse into Trumpist neo-fascism. The seventy million Americans who voted for Trump and still support his agenda will not go away soon and, many having found their racist, nativist, and white supremacist views legitimized, are feeling emboldened and angry, while others, neither racist nor white supremacist, are intentionally or unintentionally complicit with their silence. Anthroposophy is not a political movement, and welcomes people from disparate political persuasions. However, there are political movements whose basic tenets are so antithetical to core anthroposophical principles that we are ethically compelled to make a stand in support of basic human values and fundamental truths. It is not much of an exaggeration to say that Germans were placed in a similar situation in the 1930s, and it is my understanding that the overwhelming number of anthroposophists, (but sadly not all,) did make such a stand. This divide is affecting our anthroposophical community as well, and poses a very real threat to our movement, just at a time when our country and its citizens need more than ever the kind of spiritual guidance and clear, objective thinking which are hallmarks of Steiner’s philosophy. Unfortunately, I am witnessing with great concern as some of our medical doctors and other leaders are slipping into support for unscientific, indeed anti-scientific and conspiratorial theories having little to do with the core principles of anthroposophy. This is especially evident in two critical areas: our response to the Covid pandemic, and our statements and attitudes towards childhood immunizations. Please allow me to address them individually.
There is no longer any legitimate doubt that the coronavirus spreads through respiratory droplets and aerosols, and that transmission rates can be greatly reduced by following universal recommendations for social distancing and wearing facial masks. There are simply no legitimate reasons for not adopting these simple and relatively benign measures, and there is nothing un-anthroposophic about wearing a mask. Some people worry about the negative effect on children from having faces masked, which are certainly legitimate concerns. But children under two are anyway generally exempted from the mask recommendations. Overall, when we consider the hardships which previous generations (and millions of families currently) have had to endure, including homelessness, refugee status, war, displacement, bombings, natural disasters, famine, and food insecurity, it just seems that wearing masks in school is pretty trivial, and easily mitigated outside of school hours. Another source of resistance comes from those in our midst who would still deny the relationship between viruses and disease. I am well aware that Rudolf Steiner said that microbes are more likely the result and not the cause of illness. For his time, he was remarkably prescient in his emphasis on the importance of what we now know as the immune system. Nevertheless, science has progressed in the last 100 years, and it is foolish to deny the role that viruses and bacteria play as a cause of illness. I am convinced that if he were alive today, Steiner would be appalled that we were still taking his ideas from 100 years ago as gospel truth. It is wrong to confuse clairvoyance with omniscience, and Steiner would—and did—reject any kind of deification. The issue of immunizations is much more nuanced, and deserves careful consideration. One reason for the general opposition by most anthroposophists to immunization stems from comments Steiner made regarding smallpox, and the role of fear in susceptibility to illness. By 1921, vaccines against smallpox, rabies, cholera, pertussis, and tuberculosis (BCG) had been developed, but smallpox was the only widely available vaccine. The other objection has to do with routine vaccination against what used to be considered “usual childhood illnesses.” Here, winter-spring issue 2021 • 41