to take responsibility for one’s own experience, has been disempowered by a reliance on centralized authority promulgated by those “experts” who know better. Without such disempowerment, the rise of an authoritarian state would be impossible. And of course, freedom, truth, and authority are interrelated and need to be viewed as parts of a whole. How do we recognize and name the power of moral and ethical corruption? Can we co-create new ways of working that reflect the ideals of the Christmas Conference as an inclusive practice where we can act locally or regionally yet do so with a worldwide consciousness? Can we collaborate in a new leadership, transforming culture, politics, and economics so that Good may become?
I can say unconditionally, I am profoundly grateful for the reflective tools given in anthroposophical practice, esoteric and exoteric, as a way to work with and maintain equanimity. Such a way of knowing and acting extends beyond what arises as self-knowledge, to recognizing and understanding others as colleagues on a path of navigating the space, time, and spiritual world within which anthroposophical knowing stands in service. The moral atmosphere in which spiritual and cultural freedom can guide being in community awaits the renewal of a true social ethic in which truth and authority arise from love. That is the healing task ahead. John Bloom was General Secretary of the US Anthroposophical Society from 2016–2023. He is an artist, author of several books, and organizational advisor, and lives in San Francisco.
Exceptional States and New Habits of the Heart Nathaniel Williams We live in a time of uncertainty. A superficial review of history reveals the precariousness of our moment. The future is difficult to imagine; what is known seems unstable; what is emerging, full of challenges. We are faced with the task of grasping enduring questions of the human experience in our own lives even as they make their appearances in the most confusing new forms. As we look to coming years of unprecedented emergencies and “states of exception,” ideas about the constitutional rule of law must be thought anew. This is particularly important for liberal democratic states. The suspension of constitutional order and the rights they “protect” was traditionally reserved for times of war. In recent years, such suspensions increasingly have a “humanitarian” character. The great variety of emergencies connected to climate change and the ecological crisis, food insecurity, and public health measures have led to many “states of exception.” During the coronavirus pandemic this challenge appeared in bold relief. Clearly, in the coming decades, “states of exception” will be increasingly less exceptional. One important question is how to face these challenges without normalizing rule by decree. To a certain extent we can sense that the humanitarian nature of these
crises justifies the suspension of constitutional rights and requires a trust they will be restored when the danger has passed. This trusting attitude is perhaps possible in some privileged settings, but should not provide a guide. The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben has emphasized that the “state of exception” cannot be understood as a normal legal status that can be easily integrated into our understanding of a constitutional republic. He characterizes those who think we can rely on the return of constitutional order as naive and deluded. They do not see that they are playing with fire. Agamben senses a vertiginous fall in connection to the “state of exception,” one which never promises a return, especially for those who do not sense its gravity.1 One will surely feel differently about Agamben’s tone of urgency depending on where one lives (consider as examples Switzerland and the Philippines in recent years) and it is instructive to reflect on what this difference can tell us. Centralizing power in “exceptional circumstances” can be a slippery slope. What makes this slope more or less steep is how deeply a culture of rights, a culture of participation, and various freedoms are alive and well in 1 See Giorgio Agamben, State of Exception (University of Chicago Press, 2008) and Where Are We Now?: The Epidemic as Politics (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). december 2023 • 55
