Not much hope, then. The idea of a return to the 'mutual society' is good, but fanciful in a multicultural society where many people can't speak the common language are there are few common values and beliefs. The “like-minded” people would be made up of small, competing tribes.

Let's face it: we are stuffed – poised on the brink of extinction like so many ancient civilisations before us.

Germany and US are losing the middle with wealth at the top and not in the working poor. Same in Oz , Venezuela and North Korea. A couple of cyclones , earthquakes , mineral crashes and religious race wars and you won't know the place just Australian values.

I can't fathom the question asked in this article: Past a cry for a bygone era!

For dispossessing people, and fracturing social cohesion, the only excuse offered by government is compliance with globalism: With it comes the loss of sovereignty and the Australian white-man culture.

The question is; who is an Australian? Citizenship is unhelpful in deciding that matter!

For economic problems, governments are much better placed to solve them, as mutual societies don't have sufficient credit to do so. The problem is that politicians would rather maintain the illusion of economic responsibility than actually solve the problem.

For a small minority of social problems, mutual societies could be part of the solution. But in addition to the enormous problems of setting them up to make them effective, there's a very real danger of the government then using them as an excuse to avoid its own responsibilities.

Dear Dan,

«The question is; who is an Australian? Citizenship is unhelpful in deciding that matter!»

At present there is no such thing, but you are welcome to form the Australian Mutual Society along with its Credo, rules and regulations, then an "Austrlian" would simply mean a member of this society!

We could voluntarily join Yuyutsu Individual Society if we knew a bit more about it...