Quaker Foundations of a True Social Order
[Under development: 8 June 2005 ]
The following passage was written in 1918, and speaks in the language of its time, which is now seen, rightly in my view, as patriarchal and sexist. That apart, the passage was an attempt to express the kind of British society Quakers wished to live in, and the role of the individual in creating that society.
· What kind of society do you wish to live in?
· Although Margaret Thatcher, we are told, thought otherwise, do you believe that there is such a thing as 'society'?
· What, if anything, is the relationship between a self-actualised person and the society in which they live?
· What, if anything, does this imply about the purpose of a counselling relationship?
Foundations of a True Social Order
1. The Fatherhood of God, as revealed by Jesus Christ, should lead us towards a brotherhood which knows no restriction of race, sex or social class.
2. This brotherhood should express itself in a social order which is directed, beyond all material ends, to the growth of personality truly related to God and man.
3. The opportunity of full development, physical, moral and spiritual, should be assured to every member of the community, man, woman and child. The development of man's full personality should not be hampered by unjust conditions nor crushed by economic pressure.
4. We should seek for a way of living that will free us from the bondage of material things and mere conventions, that will raise no barrier between man and man, and will put no excessive burden of labour upon any by reason of our superfluous demands.
5. The spiritual force of righteousness, loving kindness and trust is mighty because of the appeal it makes to the best in every man, and when applied to industrial relations achieves great things.
6. Our rejection of the methods of outward domination, and of the appeal to force, applies not only to international affairs, but to the whole problem of industrial control. Not through antagonism but through co-operation and good-will can the best be attained for each and all.
7. Mutual service should be the principle upon which life is organised. Service, not private gain, should be the motive of all work.
8. The ownership of material things, such as land and capital, should be so regulated as best to minister to the need and development of man.
