The Maholian Way - Part One: Introduction

Developments in Maholia haven’t come about as a result of qualities of its citizenry not possessed by people elsewhere in the world. Thirty or forty years ago, when the distinctive features of the Maholian Waybegan to emerge, Maholians were no more altruistic or farsighted, no more rational or energetic or creative than non-Maholians were. The country’s political, economic and social systems were similar to those of many other industrialised countries, and it was no better endowed with natural resources.

Rather, changes have flowed from activities of various Maholian community organisations that began in the 1970s and evolved into a movement. By the late 1980s a national government espousing the core principles of this movement had been elected, and these relationalist principles have since shaped the policies, programs and approaches of government and organisations of civil society.

What, then, is relationalism? This is not an easy question to answer briefly, and in fact this whole account constitutes an answer to that question, but a start must be made somewhere.

Relationalism begins by acknowledging that we human beings are social creatures. We’re social not just because we must be in order to share the Earth and its resources, and to cooperate and specialise for the purpose of maintaining our highly complex way of life. We’re also social creatures in the sense that interacting with others enables us to meet basic psychological needs – to be loved, appreciated, included, supported, protected, guided and stimulated. Sound social relationships enrich our lives and regulate our behaviour, steering us away from purely self-interested actions and increasing the chance that we will act in ways beneficial to others.

Relationalism focuses on building sound relationships. It systematically addresses the question of how all people, in all areas of their lives, can have the necessary relationships to advance the wellbeing of others and themselves. When governments and citizens in most societies want to achieve a particular outcome – say, reducing greenhouse gases, raising educational standards or improving employment levels – they focus on the laws and policies, the techniques and resources and actions necessary to achieve these specific objectives. Maholians, on the other hand, first ask the following question: What kinds of relationships need to exist in order to maximise the chances that good outcomes will occur? They know that, unless appropriate relationships exist, there won’t be the motivation and capacity to take the actions and put in place the laws, policies, techniques and resources required to achieve the specific objectives. And they also know that if sound relationships do exist, there are almost no limits to people’s will and capacity to enhance each others’ lives. In fact, everyday life in Maholia is a testimony to this.

Accordingly, Maholians attend to the quality of relationships in families and neighbourhoods, in workplaces and the marketplace, in community organisations and institutions like schools and hospitals, and in citizens’ political activities and their dealings with government. They carefully observe their own and other societies in order to ascertain the factors that generate good relationships in all these spheres. What then are some of these factors, and how have Maholians brought them about?

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