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Equally erroneous is the association of freedom with the economic life. In reality a deep and dense network of dependencies characterizes economic life. These become particularly visible when disaster strikes. For example, the bankruptcy of a large automobile manufacturer spreads a wave of damage and hurt in ever widening circles. First to loose their livelihoods are those who work for the manufacturer. As the wave expands the suppliers to the automobile manufacturer and the car dealerships feel the pain of reduced income or bankruptcy. The circle of people who have lost their jobs or who have significantly lower incomes, of course, spends less as consumers, and this affects all the people whose activity was supplying these consumer needs, e.g. town merchants in the affected area, etc. It was Steiner’s insight that brotherly cooperation and interdependence was the true quality that should rule these densely interdependent networks in order that everyone’s needs might be met. The notion that people are free agents in this realm belies the fact that each person is tied by innumerable threads into a complex network that demands he perform the tasks required by the needs of others. Brotherhood is about brotherly interdependence. That characterizes economic life."
