The Maholian Way - Part Five: A final word

Maholia is a society that works, but it has drawn on the knowledge and accomplishments of many nations to get where it is today. It helps us, the citizens of these many nations, to appreciate the possibilities of change if we can recognise positive changes that have already occurred. This makes us more confident and optimistic, armed with evidence of successful change and of how it has been achieved. Unfortunately the propensity of mass media to give us the bad news can create the impression that our societies are in decline, that our problems are overwhelming, and that efforts to solve them generally fail. But this is very far from the truth. Two hundred years ago no-one lived under democracy, few went to school, health care was pretty ineffective, most people struggled to meet basic material needs, there were no society-wide systems of income support, workplace conditions were often harsh and cruel, discrimination was the norm, slavery was a fact of life, and violence against women and children was acceptable. All this has changed, so that these things have been almost eliminated in the industrialised world, and substantially reduced in the rest of the world. Of course there are many glaring exceptions – and many other challenges we face, including major enviromental threats  – but it is the overall positive trend that is being noted here. Much of the change that has occurred can be attributed to science, technology and economic development, but much of it also stems from a greater prevalence of humane and tolerant attitudes, and a preparedness of people to struggle for justice and human rights. Appreciating what has been achieved can thus increase our confidence and our resolve to keep working towards all the further changes that a happy, healthy and sustainable future requires.

So this is the vision of the kind of world we can become that Maholia has given me. I look forward to communicating and cooperating with those of you who want to develop this vision, to blend it with your own, and to put our shared vision into practice.

Where to from here?

If you have read this account of life in Maholia and you believe it has something to add to our understanding of how we might act to improve our own societies, then you, I and others of a similar view need to think about the steps we take next. I don’t have firm answers to this myself, and so I am very interested to hear what you have to say. Chances are, many of you will already be active in pursuit of the kinds of changes described in this account, but if you choose to take further action after reading this, some of the things you may want to consider doing are as follows:

• Sharing this account with others. For example, with friends, relatives, fellow students, colleagues in your workplace or religious or community group, with organisations you know of that might be interested, with websites and media outlets. If you learnt about this website through one of the emails I sent out, you can simply forward this to others, but if you add your own comments it will be more personal and persuasive.
• Talking and acting together with others. You can begin by discussing the ideas in this document with people you know. Start discussions in your school, university, workplace, community group or neighbourhood, or on chat sites.
• Fleshing out your own version of Maholia’s relationalist system that fits your own society and community. Every society is different and what works for another will not necessarily work for yours.
• Researching and documenting what is already being done in your society that squares with the values and practices central to this account. Most things implemented in Maholia were inspired and informed by something practised elsewhere in the world. Some examples of these are cited in endnotes, but these are really just the tip of the iceberg. Collect your own examples of similar programs and concepts, from your own experience or from internet or other research. Sometimes terms are different in different countries. For example, LETS schemes may be called local currencies or time dollars.
• Digging up whatever evidence you can to demonstate the effectiveness of such programs and schemes. There is nothing like evidence to persuade the waverers and  sceptics. (Don’t worry so much about the strongly opposed.) If you are in a position to, initiate research that can assess the effectiveness of these schemes and programs and tell the human story of their creation and operation.
• Emailing me your comments and suggestions, either about the ideas in the account or about ways of disseminating it and encouraging discussion and action. Though I’ve had in the past, and continue to have, connections with various organisations – many of which have informed my work on this document – I have written this account as an individual and, initially at least, will be replying to your emails as an individual. (So if I get a fair number of responses I will do my best to reply as soon as possible.)
• Helping me to polish up this account. One of my reasons for publishing this on the internet is to generate an interactive process that improves the account as a result of input from yourself and others. So I invite you to send me your own examples of things described in the document, or examples of other kinds of schemes or approaches that fit with relationalist principles, or arguments for or against the things advocated here. Maybe you think there are parts that are unclear or could have been expressed better. I don’t see it as completed piece of writing, but rather as an evolving device to encourage discussion about how to make the world a better place.

• Page 134