"The goal of society in general is to succeed in the world, the goal of a Light Jedi studying to become one with the Force, is to transcend beyond it."

This is an interesting question and one to which I generally agree in principle. The concept of the word society is derived from the Latin term 'Societas' which identifies a group of individuals who gather together to share idealised common cultural grounds for the betterment and improvement of their own environmental considerations. In this respect, each society is then entirely independent from all others with regard to the nature and state of its own creation within that particular area of cultural formation with regard to ethics, understanding, science, religion, progress etc.

It is entirely true then that a 'Society' does indeed group together to succeed and promote positive growth within the world in which it inhabits, regardless of the vastly differing aspects of that world. A native rainforest tribe, for example, will have vastly different societal norms and functions in comparison to that found in a modern urban Capital such as London, New York or Paris. Granted that the overall human needs and desires of that culture remain fixedly the same: eat sleep, procreate, the paths and processes by which these are realised become vastly different. Who is right and who is wrong? Perhaps the question should be who has the right to be, and in that - I feel- lies the overall problem with the goal of society.

Society essentially will exist only to serve itself and its own agendas, preferring to displace those who do not fit in or tie in to the accepted societal norms and ostracise them. Examples of this exist throughout history in rebellions, uprisings, dictatorships, ethnic cleansing and worse. So while society tries to succeed, it does so with a blinkered and hampered vision with regard to those who do not comply with their own requirement.

As Jedi, we MUST be able to stand back and look upon the issue with a sense of clarity and the full range of vision unhindered by prejudices and preconceptions. Only by stripping away the trapping of societal constraints and returning back to a source of what is truly the pure nature of positive existence can you look at the issue without a mind clouded by external factors. An example of this is the current trend in environmental groups striking back (sometimes with force and a great deal of hostility) at manufacturers for having non-environmentally friendly products. Is this progress; is this group working to better society? No, they are fulfilling their own agenda for self-purpose. Instead of aggressive action, why not target the main demographic that would affect change, the consumer. If the product fails to sell because the public have been educated, then the manufacturer must change or fail to succeed. Yet even this has overall consequences for in that instance, the lives of employees, their families, suppliers etc are all affected. So, in the end was this done for the greater good of society, or for the greater good of that individual group?

We, as Jedi, should and do learn to see the greater perspective of our actions and the impact that they will have in society. In applying this philosophy we may not be able to stop the actions from occurring, but at least can have in place the foresight to deal with any potential fallout. Be it a small personal issue or a country-wide action that occurs, clarity of vision and a greater scale of vision permit you to at least be ready to act.