ABSTRACT
The role of the regional geographer is to transmit to others the characteristics of regions. A materialist view of society sees production, or work, as its fundamental component, and it is how production is organized that characterizes the society. Just as an economic system needs a supporting political structure so it also requires a social structure, a way in which reproduction is organized and which provides a context for life outside the workplace. A regional perspective is necessary to geographical indeed to social scientific inquiry, not just to improve geography but rather and far more importantly to tackle the task of ensuring that the future has a geography. A geographical perspective is a valid, even vital, part of social science education, given the present construction of educational institutions and academic disciplines, but only if that perspective is set in a holistic context. A major role of education must be to dispel the misunderstanding and mistrust.
