Author: Christopher Houghton Budd
Pages: 10
Originally published 2005

A consideration of the link between two areas of social life – economics and farming – to which Rudolf Steiner made substantial and innovative contributions. This essay covers many topics but focuses on the conceptual link between what are known as ‘associative economics’ and ‘biodynamic agriculture’, namely, the idea that both represent closed economies. At one end of the spectrum is the farm itself; at the other economic life generally is a single closed economy. The paper looks at how this simple idea calls for a rethink of the way we understand finance, capital and ownership, not only in regard to farming but in economics generally.