American Philosophy and Rudolf Steiner torrent

Few thinkers from outside the United States have touched American culture in as many ways as Rudolf Steiner. Agriculture, education, spirituality, and medicineor more precisely, alternative practices in these fieldsall bear clear marks of his influence, for those with eyes to see. Yet the very breadth of Steiner's impact has perhaps made him harder, not easier, for observers of American culture to notice. The terms Waldorf education and biodynamic agriculture are more widely recognized than Rudolf Steiner himself or Anthroposophy. Anthroposophic initiatives are commonly understood in relation to parallel initiatives with different spiritual roots, rather than in relation to the rich fabric of Steiner's worldview. Americans typically imagine biodynamic agriculture as a more intense form of organics and Waldorf schools as 'like Montessori schools only more so.' When I describe the Camphill movement, most interlocutors respond with 'Is that like the L'arche movement?'