When social change is not addressed in a way that alleviates divisions that fragment society, then poverty, conflict and hunger will continue to hold hostage the global population from attaining the freedom and community that alleviates divisions welfare of all.
In the 1960's, I had the privilege to hear the late Ivan Illich speak. He described "Conviviality" as the outcome of positive social change. I have cherished and practiced this philosophy since; my experiences in Mexico and the Philippines broaden my ideas to embrace the international community as the focus of conviviality.
Abundance Thinking and Partnership in Diversity organize the interests, energies and intentions of Illich describes conviviality as "individual freedom realized in personal interdependence and, as such, is intrinsic ethical value". Conviviality as social change not only serves the highest aspirations of the human family but is a global imperative for its well-being.
Globalism has the potential for evil or good. Corporate interests exploit the global society for its own ends, forming people into consumers, thereby creating a social class without the means to achieve what is portrayed as a goal. On the other hands, if the global society is approached in a respectful and liberating way, it opens the possibility for peace, justice, and shared prosperity.
In a lecture delivered at the First Congretational Church in Berkeley in October of 2010, economist Robert Reich demonstrated that the condition of most of the wealth in the hands of the few very, with the majority of people either extremely poor or with less purchasing power (adjusted for inflation) than the 1930's, is not only divisive but economically dangerous. He advocated for an economic restructuring to enable shared prosperity, thereby generating economic vitaility. Shared prosperity would enable the rich elite to have less in a economically vibrant society rather than to have more in a dead economy and create political good well in a world where there is increasing polictical animosity.
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