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Socio-political problems. Global socio-political problems, negative manifestations of the arms race and disarmament tasks

Introduction

Global social and political problems. Negative manifestations of the arms race and the tasks of disarmament

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

In the modern scientific world, there are many interpretations of the concept of civilization. Its study has always attracted politicians, sociologists, historians and philosophers. Various theories of the formation and development of both global and local, separately taken civilizations have always caused controversy among scientists. An integral part of these disputes is the place of Russia in world civilization, its belonging to one or another line of development. Westerners, Slavophiles, Eurasians - there are many areas of discussion. But the purpose of these discussions is the same - to understand how original the civilization of Russia is. Some versions are based solely on historical facts, others are based only on ideology. But it must be admitted that the socio-political approach to the study of this problem is impossible without such independent sciences as history and philosophy. Let's try to give an objective analysis of the civilizational development of Russia in the context of the development of world civilization.

Introductory, to consider the second issue of this work, you can take the definition of the political scientist V.A. Maltseva: “The global problems of our time are complex and all-encompassing. They are closely intertwined with each other, with regional and national-state problems. They are based on contradictions on a global scale, affecting the foundations of the existence of modern civilization. The aggravation of contradictions in one link leads to destructive processes in general, gives rise to new problems. Permission global problems is also complicated by the fact that there is still a low level of management of global processes by international organizations, their awareness and funding from sovereign states... The strategy of human survival based on solving global problems of our time should lead peoples to new frontiers of civilized development. "

Civilization concept. Two historical lines and the place of Russia in the stream of world civilizations

CIVILIZATION-stage in the development of society; the level of social and cultural development, which is associated with the division of labor.

For a long time, civilization was viewed as a stage in the historical development of mankind, following savagery and barbarism. Today, such a meaning is insufficient and imprecise. Civilization is understood as the qualitative specificity (originality of material, spiritual, social life) of a particular group of countries, peoples at a certain stage of development.

According to a number of researchers, civilizations have been drastically different and differ from each other, since they are based on incompatible systems of social values. Any civilization is characterized not only by a specific social-production technology, but also, to no less extent, by a culture corresponding to it. It is characterized by a certain philosophy, socially significant values, a generalized image of the world, a specific way of life with its own special life principle, the basis of which is the spirit of the people, its morality, conviction, which determine a certain attitude towards oneself. This main life principle unites people into the people of a given civilization, ensures its unity throughout its own history.

Civilization as a large-scale sociocultural community has its own hierarchy of ideals and values, representing society as an integral system and subject of world history. Each civilization, differing from others in its special forms of life, has an active influence on the content of all social processes. The totality of specific sociocultural factors in their interaction forms a mechanism for the functioning of civilization, the features of which are manifested in ethnosocial, religious, psychological, behavioral and other ways of life of a given human community. In this regard, various types and forms of civilizations have existed in history and now exist, the total number of which scientists determine within thirty. The identification of types of civilizations is facilitated by the following features: - common fundamental features and mentality; - commonality and interdependence of historical and political fate and economic development; - the intertwining of cultures; - presence of a sphere of common interests and common tasks from the point of view of development prospects.

On the basis of the formed features, two types of civilizations can be distinguished.

The first type of civilizations is traditional societies. Their distinctive cultures were aimed at maintaining the established way of life. The preference was given to traditional models and norms, which absorbed the experience of ancestors. The types of activities, their means and goals changed slowly. Traditional societies originate in the ancient Eastern civilization, where extensive technology prevailed, aimed mainly at mastering external natural processes. Man coordinated his activities with the rhythms of nature, adapting to the environment as much as possible. This type of society has survived to this day. And today, among the spiritual values in them, one of the leading places is occupied by the attitude towards adaptation to natural conditions, the desire for their purposeful transformation is discouraged. An activity directed inwardly towards a person, towards self-contemplation, is valuable. Traditions and customs passed down from generation to generation are of particular importance. In general, the value-spiritual sphere of human existence is placed above the economic one.

The second type is Western societies or Western European civilization, which in many respects is opposite to traditional society, although it has rather deep historical roots. It was based on other values. Among them are the importance of science, the constant striving for progress, for changes in the established forms of activity. The understanding of the nature of man and his role in public life was also different. It was based on the Christian doctrine of morality and attitude to the human mind as created in the image and likeness of the divine and therefore capable of comprehending the meaning of life. Western European civilization is called differently: technogenic, industrial, scientific and technical. It has absorbed the achievements of ancient culture, the Western European Middle Ages, the Renaissance. Due to the more severe, in comparison with the countries of the East, the natural environment, the intensive production that developed in the European region required the utmost exertion of the physical and intellectual forces of society, constant improvement of tools of labor, methods of influencing nature. In this regard, a new system of values was formed. Gradually, active, creative, transforming human activity came to the fore. Constant renewal and progress became the ideals of civilization. Scientific knowledge has acquired unconditional value, significantly expanding the intellectual powers, inventive abilities of a person, his ability to transform the world. Unlike traditional societies, where collective forms of human life are of paramount importance, Western civilization has put forward an independent, autonomous personality as the most important value, which, in turn, served as the basis for developing ideas about inalienable human rights, about civil society and the rule of law.

An attempt to understand the laws of the world historical process, to highlight its main directions, to determine the originality and role of various cultural and historical types, which we call civilizations, in the formation of a single human civilization puts us in front of the need to comprehend the place of Russia in the global civilization.

What type should the Russian civilization be classified as? Or maybe she is a special, third type?

This key problem was posed back in the 30s. XIX century. by the Russian philosopher P. Ya. Chaadaev (1794-1856), who wrote: “They say about Russia, that it does not belong to either Europe or Asia, that it is a special world. So be it. But it is still necessary to prove that humanity, in addition to its two sides, defined by the words - West and East, has a third side ”. Over its more than a thousand-year history, the Russian state has passed a difficult path of development, which was influenced by both internal and external factors.

Ancient Russian civilization differed from both medieval Western European and traditional Eastern types of civilizations. Due to a unique combination of socio-economic, political and geographical reasons, it turned out to be an exceptionally centrifugal, mobile and therefore extensive civilization, built not so much due to comprehensive cultivation and maximum development of a limited natural and social space, but due to the inclusion of ever new spaces in its orbit. It is not known how long this civilization would have existed, but the church hierarchy that came from Byzantium not only brought sacred books with it and thereby laid the foundation for ancient Russian literacy and writing, but also through baptism united the ancient Russian world, primarily as a Christian one. It can be assumed that the ancient Russian civilization, despite its significant uniqueness, would gradually be drawn into a single civilizational style of Western Europe. However, the rapprochement between Russia and Europe was prevented then by two circumstances: a special form of Christianity and the next order of reign, which, under a powerful external influence, led Russia along a different path.

We can talk about modern Russian civilization, starting from the era of Peter's transformations, from the 18th century, from the imperial, Petersburg period of Russian history. Peter's transformations laid the foundations of the civilization of Russia, within the framework of which we continue to live today. In full measure, this civilization took shape in the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries. The centuries of the XIX and XX became the era of its intensive development.

How to find in Russia common features inherent in this or that civilization? This question has been raised for a long time. Its solution is of great importance for the methodology of researching the development of Russia. But this is not just a historical and scientific, but a socio-political, spiritual and moral problem. This or that solution to this problem is associated with the choice of the path of development of our country, the definition of the main value guidelines. Therefore, the discussion on this issue does not stop throughout the entire Russian history. It should be noted that each of the concepts defining the place of Russia in world civilization is based on certain historical facts. At the same time, these concepts clearly show a one-sided ideological orientation. Four points of view can be distinguished:

1. Russia is part of Western civilization. This position was developed in the 30-40s. XIX century. Russian historians and writers K.D. Kavelin, N.G. Chernyshevsky, B.I. Chicherin and others, called Westerners.

2. Russia is part of the Eastern civilization. This point of view is shared by many contemporary Western historians.

3. Russia is the bearer of the original Slavic civilization. Historians and scientists of this direction, called "Slavophiles", such as N. Kireevsky, S. Khomyakov, K. Aksakov, Yu. Samarin, in the 40s. XIX century., When Russia was on the verge of reforms, defended the originality, "Slavic character" of the Russian people.

4. Russia is an example of a special Eurasian civilization. Supporters of this theory, which was in circulation in the 50s. XX century, relied on geographical position Russia, its multinational character and many common features of both Eastern and Western civilizations that are manifested in Russian society.

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Introduction

2. Global social and political problems. Negative manifestations of the arms race and the tasks of disarmament

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Introductory, to consider the second issue of this work, you can take the definition of the political scientist V.A. Maltseva: “The global problems of our time are complex and all-encompassing. They are closely intertwined with each other, with regional and national-state problems. They are based on contradictions on a global scale, affecting the foundations of the existence of modern civilization. The aggravation of contradictions in one link leads to destructive processes in general, gives rise to new problems. The resolution of global problems is also complicated by the fact that the level of management of global processes by international organizations, their awareness and funding from sovereign states is still low. The strategy of human survival based on solving global problems of our time should lead peoples to new frontiers of civilized development. "

1. The concept of civilization. Two historical lines and the place of Russia in the stream of world civilizations

CIVILIZATION-stage in the development of society; the level of social and cultural development, which is associated with the division of labor.

For a long time, civilization was viewed as a stage in the historical development of mankind, following savagery and barbarism. Today, such a meaning is insufficient and imprecise. Civilization is understood as qualitative specificity (originality of material, spiritual, social life) a particular group of countries, peoples at a certain stage of development.

Civilization as a large-scale sociocultural community has its own hierarchy of ideals and values that represent society as an integral system and subject of world history. Each civilization, differing from others in special forms of life, has an active influence on the content of all social processes... The totality of specific sociocultural factors in their interaction forms a mechanism for the functioning of civilization, the features of which are manifested in ethnosocial, religious, psychological, behavioral and other ways of life of a given human community. In this regard, various types and forms of civilizations have existed in history and now exist, the total number of which scientists determine within thirty. The following features contribute to the identification of types of civilizations: - common fundamental features and mentality; - commonality and interdependence of historical and political fate and economic development; - the intertwining of cultures; - the presence of a sphere of common interests and common tasks from the point of view of development prospects.

On the basis of the formed features, two types of civilizations can be distinguished.

The first type of civilizations is traditional societies. Their distinctive cultures were aimed at maintaining the established way of life. The preference was given to traditional models and norms, which absorbed the experience of ancestors. The types of activities, their means and goals changed slowly. Traditional societies originate in the ancient Eastern civilization, where extensive technology prevailed, aimed mainly at mastering external natural processes. Man coordinated his activities with the rhythms of nature, adapting to the environment as much as possible. This type of society has survived to this day. And today, among the spiritual values in them, one of the leading places is occupied by the attitude towards adaptation to natural conditions, the desire for their purposeful transformation is not encouraged. An activity directed inwardly towards a person, towards self-contemplation, is valuable. Traditions and customs passed down from generation to generation are of particular importance. In general, the value-spiritual sphere of human existence is placed above the economic one.

What type should be attributed to Russian civilization? Or maybe she is a special, third type?

The socio-political conflict, as it were, combines social and political conflicts, each of which arises on different reasons and solves "their" problems. In addition, in these conflicts, parties (subjects), different in their qualitative characteristics, are in conflict. The main differences between social conflict and political conflict are as follows.

1. In a social conflict, the confrontation occurs between social subjects (individuals, groups, social organizations, movements and institutions), in a political conflict - between the subjects of politics (political parties, political (state) institutions, states). In the course of the development of both social and political conflict, the transformation of social subjects into political ones and vice versa is not excluded.

2. The object of social conflict (in the narrow sense) is social interests, needs, values, social statuses, etc., and the integral object of political conflict is political (state) power and power relations.

Since a socio-political conflict combines both social and political conflicts, social and political actors can simultaneously interact and resist in it. Social and political interests can be the subject of such a conflict at the same time.

So, a socio-political conflict is a confrontation between two or more social and political subjects (parties), the causes of which are incompatible socio-political interests, goals and values, directly or indirectly associated with political (state) power. This is any social conflict affecting political relations and (or) for the solution of which it is necessary to use political methods and means. For example, if during a strike of workers large enterprise or the whole industry fails to solve the social (economic) problems underlying the conflict, then the strike can be transformed into a political action with already political demands (for example, the resignation of a governor, government, president). However, this action can acquire a political character only if it “forces” state structures to solve the problems that have arisen by political methods.

Most often, one of the conflicting parties in a socio-political conflict is represented by large social groups(labor collectives, pensioners, youth, residents of the region, ethnic groups, etc.), as well as public and political institutions in opposition to the government (parties, trade unions, social and political movements). The other side in such a conflict is usually the ruling political regime or its individual institutions and social groups that support this regime.

The common object for the conflicting parties in a socio-political conflict is political power. But the subject of the conflict for each of the parties may be different. So, for subjects of politics (the state and its institutions, political parties), the object of the conflict is the state power, and the subject is the limits of power. For the ruling regime, the main goal in a socio-political conflict is to retain political power, preserve (strengthen) power, and give the political regime the appearance of efficiency and legitimacy. For social subjects, political power, as a rule, is not an end in itself (a subject) of a conflict. Power (state bodies, officials) is considered here only as the cause of the emerging social problems and / or as a way (means) to achieve the desired social goals. But under certain conditions, social subjects can transform into political ones and also claim political power.

In terms of the scale of the problems to be solved, in terms of the quantitative composition and level of the opposing sides, the following types of socio-political conflicts can be distinguished:

Regional - appears in a separate region of the Russian Federation. During

the development of such a conflict, social actors make claims to the regional political authorities. Thus, on January 30, a rally of many thousands (from 9 to 12 thousand people) gathered in Kaliningrad demanding the resignation of the regional governor G. Boos; hya-

Regional, which in the course of its development "enters" the federal level ("forces" the federal authorities to solve the problems that have arisen). An example of such a conflict is the above-mentioned conflict in the city of Pikalevo (repeated appeals of residents to the regional authorities with demands for payment of wage arrears and the resumption of stopped production, did not give a positive result);

Federal (nationwide). Such a socio-political conflict can be divided into two subspecies: 1) local, which has arisen in one or several regions, but by its consequences has national significance;

2) large-scale - covering most of the country's regions and "forcing" the federal authorities to make national decisions. As an example of such a conflict, one can name the mass demonstrations of people dissatisfied with the monetization of benefits;

Regular. In the overthrow of the hated political regime the authorities involved broad social strata of the country's population.

If a regime socio-political conflict presupposes profound qualitative transformations of all spheres of life of society and the state, then it is called a social revolution. ”Examples of such a conflict are: the Great October Revolution of 1917 in Russia; Islamic revolution in Iran (January 1978 - February 1979), which resulted in the overthrow of the pro-American regime of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi;

International. Unlike an interstate conflict, such a conflict is essentially a socio-political one: first, both political and social actors are involved in a conflict confrontation; secondly, the reasons for its occurrence are the clash of political, social, economic and other interests.

The features of the socio-political conflict are:

1) publicity and open nature of the manifestation of the confrontation of the parties. Real politics is the sphere of resolving contradictions between large social groups. Therefore, a socio-political conflict presupposes an appeal by the parties to social groups and to the general public;

2) universal relevance. As already mentioned, a socio-political conflict directly or indirectly affects the interests of large social groups, social strata, classes, society as a whole. Therefore, the subjects of socio-political conflict (the state, political organizations, elite institutions and individual leaders) always act on behalf of a certain social community (social stratum, class, ethnic group, interest group, society as a whole);

3) conditionality by power ( power relations). The main (integral) object in a socio-political conflict is political power;

4) the ideological nature of the motivation of the conflict. Socio-political conflict, as a rule, has certain ideological grounds. Political ideology is a spiritual education specially designed for the target and ideological orientation of the social and political behavior of citizens. It performs the functions of organizing, identifying and mobilizing the subjects and participants of the socio-political conflict;

5) institutional organization of the subjects of the conflict. In order to really claim power and authority in society or in the international arena, the subjects of a socio-political conflict must be organizationally formalized - they must be a public organization, a political party, state institute or be a legitimate representative of these bodies;

6) "symbolic" identification. Ideological symbols play a significant role in the identification, organization and mobilization of the masses in socio-political conflict. For example, the red banner is considered the main symbol of the proletarian revolution; During the presidential elections in Ukraine (late 2004 - early 2005), the pro-government bloc headed by Yanukovych chose blue as its symbol, and the opposition, led by Yushchenko, chose orange. Symbols are used as a way and means of self-identification and opposition of parties in a political conflict;

7) conflict of mutual intentions of the parties. If goods and services compete and "conflict" on the ordinary market, then on the political field - ideas, slogans, programs, statements. Competing and conflicting parties offer "goods" and "services" that cannot be adequately evaluated, cannot be weighed or tasted. In a socio-political conflict, it is not the quality of the product itself that comes to the fore, but the effectiveness of its advertising - political PR-technologies, political marketing;

8) the presence of legitimate leaders. Political confrontation, as a rule, transforms into confrontation between political leaders, and the leaders themselves often become symbols of the socio-political movement and guarantors of the fulfillment of these promises. Therefore, opponents seek by any means to discredit not so much the ideas and programs of the opponent, but rather the "carrier" and guarantor of these ideas;

9) legal conflicts. Institutionalization of socio-political conflict is one of the essential conditions its settlement and resolution, and in this respect it is in many ways similar to a legal conflict. However, if a narrow circle of professional lawyers is supposed to be attracted to settle a legal conflict, then the opposing sides of the socio-political conflict seek to enlist support (involve in the conflict) the maximum possible number of “uninitiated”. Here, in essence, we are talking about the correlation (collision) of such concepts (categories) as "legality" and "legitimacy"; the first appeals to the legal norms of law, the second - to social (political) justice;

10) one-sided "legality" of violence. The use of violence in a socio-political conflict is considered legal only by the ruling regime. In other cases, it is perceived as a deviation and is prosecuted. However, in regime conflicts, the opposition side can ignore the existing rules of political struggle, demand their change, act "illegal" methods, incite the general population to mass protests and disobedience to the authorities;

11) national and socio-cultural characteristics. History and everyday practice show that in the development of the theory of socio-political conflict and in its practical application, it is necessary to take into account the “local” and “temporal” peculiarities of the country and the level of political culture;

12) opportunity tragic consequences... A large-scale socio-political conflict can completely destroy the political and social structure of society and plunge the country into the abyss of the "time of troubles", which has happened more than once in the history of Russia. Social revolutions and world wars lead to the death of tens of millions of people, colossal destruction and material costs.

Causes of occurrence:

K. Marx believed that the basis of the social-class conflict is the relationship of ownership of the means of production. L. Coser believed that all types social conflicts due to a lack of resources. From the point of view of R. Dahrendorf, the main cause of conflicts in society is the struggle for power.

R. Garr considers relative deprivation as one of the main reasons for the emergence of a political conflict.

According to L.N. Timofeeva, the conflict lies in nature itself political power, designed to harmonize, coordinate the various interests of people. She identifies the following sources of political conflict:

1) social relations themselves are relations of inequality;

2) the divergence of people in basic values and political ideals;

3) identification of citizens (social, religious, political; social, etc.);

4) shortcomings, mistakes, distortions in the technology of political communication;

5) socio-psychological properties of political subjects fighting for power.

EAT. Babosov believes that the reasons for political conflicts are:

The relationship of domination and subordination that divides people into dominating and subordinate;

Fundamental differences in political ideals and preferences, value orientations of individuals, social groups and communities;

A set of factors associated with the processes of identification of citizens, their awareness of their belonging to political, social, ethno-national, religious, subcultural communities;

The conflict nature of the political system itself, which inevitably gives rise to state-legal conflicts.

According to B.V. Kovalenko, A.I. Pirogov and O.A. Ryzhov, various types of political crises lie at the heart of the political conflict:

Identity crisis caused by the disintegration of ideals and values that dominate the political culture of a given society;

The crisis in the distribution of material and cultural benefits, which consists in the inability of power structures to ensure a sustainable growth in the material well-being of the population;

Participation crisis - due to the low level of citizen involvement in governance;

"Penetration" crisis is the desire of the ruling class to implement its decisions in all spheres of public life;

The crisis of legitimacy is the discrepancy between the implemented goals of the regime and the mass perceptions of the norms of its functioning.

All the variety of reasons for the emergence of intrastate political conflicts can be reduced to three main ones:

1) infringement of the basic socio-economic and political interests of a significant part of the country's population. This may be due to the emergence of the following types of political conflicts:

The conflict of the legitimacy of the authorities, which is based on: a) socio-economic reasons, for example, the distribution of the social product between different social classes and strata (for example, in Russia the gap in income between the poor and the rich (decile coefficient) is 17.5); b) political and legal reasons (for example, violation of political rights and freedoms of citizens).

Infringement of basic needs can be caused by both objective and subjective factors.

Objective factors:

The crisis of the natural socio-economic development of society (for example, the crisis of the USSR in the 1980s);

Difficulties associated with radical reform of the socio-political system of society;

Unforeseen circumstances (natural disaster, global financial crisis, external wars, etc.).

"Subjective factors:

Obvious miscalculations in socio-economic policy (incompetence);

The unwillingness of the ruling elite to take into account the fundamental interests and needs of the subordinate classes and social strata;

Awareness (perception) by the subordinate social strata and classes of the existing political system of distribution of resources (including power) as unjust and illegal (crisis of legitimacy).

If a significant part of the country's population does not find its place in the existing socio-political structure of society and cannot satisfy its basic needs within the framework of existing socio-political institutions, then it will seek to destroy or radically change these institutions. The mass socio-political protests that took place in Russia at the end of 2011 - the first half of 2012 are a vivid example of the manifestation of dissatisfaction of a significant part of Russians with the state of affairs in the country;

2) differences in assessments, value orientations, goals, ideas about the political and socio-economic development of society (differences in political cultures). So, according to sociological research, at the beginning of 2011, 43% of Russians believed that Russia was on the wrong path of its development, 47% believed that Russia was on the the right way... These data indicate that the Russian society in its ideas and value orientations has split into two approximately equal parts, between which conflicts are possible;

3) the struggle between various interest groups (clans, elites, blocs, etc.) for power and resources in society. Such a struggle is the most common ground for initiating socio-political conflicts "from above". On this basis, the following types of conflicts may arise:

A conflict arising from the struggle for power and resources within the existing political system. The reasons, goals and objectives of these conflicts are usually veiled and not very clear to most citizens. The victory of one or another political group in such a conflict, as a rule, does not change anything in the living conditions of the population. Examples of such conflicts are the “color revolutions” that took place at the beginning of this century in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. The danger of such "clan" conflicts for society lies in the fact that in order to achieve their individual and group interests, political groups and leaders seek to attract large social groups to their side, which can lead to violence and civil war;

Conflict caused by the struggle between the opposition and the ruling political elite for a radical change in the socio-political (economic) system. Examples of such conflicts are Gorbachev's "perestroika" (late 1980s) and Yeltsin's "liberalization" (early 1990s);

Identity conflict, the essence of which is that people are divided according to certain characteristics (social, ethnic, political, etc.) into “us” and “aliens”.

Introduction

2. Global social and political problems. Negative manifestations of the arms race and the tasks of disarmament

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Introductory, to consider the second issue of this work, you can take the definition of the political scientist V.A. Maltseva: “The global problems of our time are complex and all-encompassing. They are closely intertwined with each other, with regional and national-state problems. They are based on contradictions on a global scale, affecting the foundations of the existence of modern civilization. The aggravation of contradictions in one link leads to destructive processes in general, gives rise to new problems. The resolution of global problems is also complicated by the fact that the level of management of global processes by international organizations, their awareness and funding from sovereign states is still low. The strategy of human survival based on solving global problems of our time should lead peoples to new frontiers of civilized development. "

1. The concept of civilization. Two historical lines and the place of Russia in the stream of world civilizations

CIVILIZATION-stage in the development of society; the level of social and cultural development, which is associated with the division of labor.

Civilization as a large-scale sociocultural community has its own hierarchy of ideals and values, representing society as an integral system and subject of world history. Each civilization, differing from others in its special forms of life, has an active influence on the content of all social processes. The totality of specific sociocultural factors in their interaction forms a mechanism for the functioning of civilization, the features of which are manifested in ethnosocial, religious, psychological, behavioral and other ways of life of a given human community. In this regard, various types and forms of civilizations have existed in history and now exist, the total number of which scientists determine within thirty. The identification of types of civilizations is facilitated by the following features: - common fundamental features and mentality; - commonality and interdependence of historical and political fate and economic development; - the intertwining of cultures; - the presence of a sphere of common interests and common tasks from the point of view of development prospects.

On the basis of the formed features, two types of civilizations can be distinguished.

The first type of civilizations is traditional societies. Their distinctive cultures were aimed at maintaining the established way of life. The preference was given to traditional models and norms, which absorbed the experience of ancestors. The types of activities, their means and goals changed slowly. Traditional societies originate in the ancient Eastern civilization, where extensive technology prevailed, aimed mainly at mastering external natural processes. Man coordinated his activities with the rhythms of nature, adapting to the environment as much as possible. This type of society has survived to this day. And today, among the spiritual values in them, one of the leading places is occupied by the attitude towards adaptation to natural conditions, the desire for their purposeful transformation is not encouraged. An activity directed inwardly towards a person, towards self-contemplation, is valuable. Traditions and customs passed down from generation to generation are of particular importance. In general, the value-spiritual sphere of human existence is placed above the economic one.

What type should be attributed to Russian civilization? Or maybe she is a special, third type?

2. Russia is part of the Eastern civilization. This point of view is shared by many contemporary Western historians.

4. Russia is an example of a special Eurasian civilization. Supporters of this theory, which was in circulation in the 50s. XX century, relied on the geographical position of Russia, its multinational character and many common features of both Eastern and Western civilization, manifested in Russian society.

Let's take a closer look at these four points of view.

Westerners or "Europeanists" proposed to consider Russia as an integral part of Europe and, therefore, as an integral component of Western civilization. They believed that Russia, albeit with some lag, was developing in the mainstream of Western civilization, that in terms of its culture, economic ties, Christian religion, Russia lies closer to the West than to the East, and should strive for rapprochement with the West. The period of Peter's reforms made a significant step in this direction. This point of view is supported by many characteristics of Russian history. The overwhelming majority of the population of Russia professes Christianity and, therefore, is committed to the values and socio-psychological attitudes that underlie Western civilization. The reform activities of many statesmen: Prince Vladimir, Peter I, Catherine II, Alexander II are aimed at incorporating Russia into Western civilization. Undoubtedly, the culture of Russia has long been included in the culture of the West. This primarily applies to Christianity, enlightenment, social utopianism, avant-garde, elements of rationalism.

Proponents of the theory that Russia belongs to countries with an eastern type of civilization believe that those few attempts to familiarize Russia with Western civilization ended in failure and did not leave a deep trace in the self-consciousness of the Russian people and its history. Russia has always been a kind of Eastern despotism. One of the most important arguments in favor of such a position is the cyclical nature of Russia's development: the period of reforms was inevitably followed by a period of counterreforms, and the reformation was followed by a counterreformation. Supporters of this position also point to the collectivist nature of the mentality of the Russian people, the absence in Russian history of democratic traditions, respect for freedom, dignity of the individual, the vertical nature of socio-political relations, their predominantly subject color, etc. For example, the American historian D. Tredgold, defining the belonging of Russia to the Eastern civilization, notes the following general features: the Eastern society is characterized by political monism - the concentration of power in one center; social monism, meaning that the rights and property of different social groups are determined by the central government; weakly expressed principle of property, which is always conditional and not guaranteed by the authorities; arbitrariness, the essence of which is that a person rules, and not a law. It is this model of society, according to Tredgold, that arose and became stronger in the process of the formation of the Moscow state in the 15th-17th centuries. With the reforms of Peter I, Russia began a shift towards the Western model. And only by 1917 did it manage to come close to the line dividing the Western and Eastern models, but the October Revolution again alienated Russia from the West.

But the largest trend in the historical and social thought of Russia is the ideological and theoretical trend that defends the idea of the originality of Russia. Supporters of this idea are Slavophiles, Eurasians and many other representatives of the so-called "patriotic" ideology.

The Slavophiles considered Orthodoxy, communal life, and the collectivist nature of labor to be peculiarities of Russian history. As a result of the great migration of peoples at the beginning new era the eastern Slavs found themselves on a virgin, untouched land, unlike their congeners on the Aryan branch of the Franks and Germans, who settled in the former provinces of the Roman Empire and laid the foundation for the history of Western Europe. Thus, Russian state develops "out of itself". These primary living conditions of the Russian Slavs, according to V.O. Klyuchevsky, the comparative simplicity of their social composition was determined, as well as the significant uniqueness of both this development and this composition. Slavophiles, the idea of the originality of Russian history was associated with an exclusively unique path of development of Russia, and, consequently, with the exceptional originality of Russian culture. The initial thesis of the teachings of the Slavophiles is to affirm the decisive role of Orthodoxy for the formation and development of Russian civilization. According to A. S. Khomyakov, it was Orthodoxy that formed "that primordially Russian quality, that" Russian spirit "that created the Russian land in its infinite volume." The fundamental idea of Russian Orthodoxy, and, consequently, of the entire structure of Russian life, is the idea of conciliarity. Conciliarism manifests itself in all spheres of life of the Russian person: in the church, in the family, in society, in relations between states. According to the Slavophils, conciliarity is the most important quality that separates Russian society from all of western civilization. Western peoples, moving away from the decisions of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, perverted the Christian creed and thus consigned to oblivion the conciliar principle. And this gave rise to all the flaws of European culture and, above all, its mercantilism and individualism. Russian civilization is characterized by high spirituality, based on an ascetic worldview, and a collectivist, communal structure of social life. From the point of view of the Slavophiles, it was Orthodoxy that gave birth to a specific, social organization - a rural community, a "world" that has economic and moral significance. In the description of the agricultural community by the Slavophils, the moment of its idealization and embellishment is clearly visible. The economic activity of the community is presented as a harmonious combination of personal and public interests, and all members of the community act in relation to each other as “comrades and shareholders”. At the same time, they nevertheless admitted that in the modern structure of the community there are negative aspects generated by the presence of serfdom. Slavophiles condemned serfdom and advocated its abolition. However, the Slavophiles saw the main advantage of the rural community in the spiritual and moral principles that it educates its members: the willingness to stand up for common interests, honesty, patriotism, etc. In their opinion, the emergence of these qualities in community members does not occur consciously, but instinctively, by following ancient religious customs and traditions. Based on principled attitude that the community is better shape social organization of life, the Slavophiles demanded to make the communal principle all-embracing, that is, to transfer it to the sphere of urban life, to industry. The communal structure should also be the basis of state life and be capable, in their words, of replacing "the abomination of administration in Russia." The Slavophiles believed that as the “communal principle” spreads in Russian society, the “spirit of conciliarity” would be strengthened more and more. The guiding principle of social relations will be the self-denial of everyone in favor of all. Thanks to this, the religious and social aspirations of people will merge into a single stream. As a result, the task of our internal history will be fulfilled, which they define as "the enlightenment of the people's communal principle." Slavophilism is based on the ideology of Pan-Slavism. Their idea of the special fate of Russia is based on the idea of the exclusivity, the specialness of the Slavs.

The Eurasians, in contrast to the Slavophiles, insisted on the exclusiveness of Russia and the Russian ethnos. This exclusivity, in their opinion, was determined by the synthetic character of the Russian ethnos. Russia is a special type of civilization that differs from both the West and the East. They called this special type of civilization Eurasian. In the Eurasian concept of the civilizational process, a special place was given to the geographical factor (natural environment) - the "place of development" of the people. This environment, in their opinion, determines the features different countries and peoples, their identity and destiny. Russia occupies the middle space of Asia and Europe, roughly outlined by three great plains: East European, West Siberian and Turkestan. These huge flat areas, devoid of natural sharp geographical boundaries, left an imprint on the history of Russia, contributed to the creation of a kind of cultural world. A significant role in the argumentation of the Eurasians was assigned to the peculiarities of the ethnogenesis of the Russian nation. The Russian ethnos was formed not only on the basis of the Slavic ethnos, but under the strong influence of the Turkic and Ugro-Finnish tribes. The influence on Russian history and Russian self-consciousness of the eastern "Turanian", predominantly Turkic-Tatar element associated with the Tatar-Mongol yoke was especially emphasized. The methodological attitudes of the Eurasians were largely shared by the prominent Russian thinker N.A. Berdyaev. One of critical characteristics Russian folk individuality, according to Berdyaev, is its deep polarization and inconsistency: “The inconsistency and complexity of the Russian soul may be due to the fact that in Russia two streams of world history collide and come into interaction: East and West. The Russian people are not a purely European and not a purely Asian people. Russia is a whole part of the world, a huge East-West, it connects two worlds. And always in the Russian soul, two principles fought, the eastern and the western. " ON. Berdyaev believes that there is a correspondence between the immensity, the boundlessness of the Russian land and the Russian soul. In the soul of the Russian people there is the same immensity, boundlessness, striving for infinity, as in the Russian plain. The Russian people, Berdyaev argues, were not a people of a culture based on ordered rational principles. He was a people of revelation and inspiration. Two opposite principles formed the basis of the Russian soul: the pagan Dionistic element and the ascetic-monastic Orthodoxy. This duality permeates all the main characteristics of the Russian people: despotism, state hypertrophy and anarchism, liberty, cruelty, propensity for violence and kindness, humanity, gentleness, ritualism and the search for truth, individualism, heightened personality consciousness and impersonal collectivism, nationalism, self-praise and universalism, all-humanity, messianic religiosity and outward piety, the search for God and militant atheism, humility and arrogance, slavery and rebellion. These contradictory features of the Russian national character predetermined, in Berdyaev's opinion, all the complexity and cataclysms of Russian development.

Let us summarize the results from the considered points of view on the civilizational development of Russia.

The most important aspect of the concept of civilization is diversity, multilevel, multidimensionality and scale. Civilization is a large-scale, complexly organized enterprise, included in the world whole in the most direct way and having a significant impact on this whole. Russia fits entirely into the framework this definition... The self-identification of the majority of Russians is limited precisely by belonging to Russia, and not by recognizing themselves as a "man of the West" or "a man of the East." It is no coincidence that in the entire body of literature devoted to Russia, there is hardly any significant publication in which the belonging of Russia to any of the civilizations - Western or Eastern - would be unambiguously recognized. Even for the most ardent Russian Westernizers, Russian “westernism” has acted and continues to act as a project of the most preferable future, and not as an evidence and a given. In the works of foreign researchers, Russia, as a rule, is assigned an independent place in the world as a whole. Foreign authors, regardless of their attitude towards Russia, positive or negative, assign it the role of a significant and independent factor in world life. Many contemporary Russian researchers do not question the understanding of Russia as an independent civilization.

The history of Russia was often interrupted, as a result of which we should speak not about one, but about several Russia: Kievan Rus, Muscovite Rus, Russia of Peter I, Soviet Russia, etc. We must remember that the discontinuity of history and the associated presence of a number of sharply different forms country is not exceptional feature Russia. It is obvious that this or that country, taken in a certain, rather long historical epoch, either belongs to one of the existing civilizations, or gravitates to one of them, or, finally, is itself a separate civilization. It is the latter that applies to Russia.

Russian civilization is a multinational entity. This means that representatives of the most diverse peoples and cultures have made and continue to make their contribution to the peculiarities of the way of life and thought in Russia. At the same time, there is every reason to believe that the circle of peoples that make up the Russian civilization is fundamentally unlimited. It is likely that in the future it will include those that were not previously characteristic of Russia, were considered outlandish, for example, the Chinese, Africans or Indians. However, as they integrate into Russian society, they can become carriers of a specific Russian way of life and thought, however, without the obligatory loss of the original inherent features their socio - psychological culture.

The civilization of Russia can be studied at various time slices of its existence. It is clear that it is especially important and interesting to know and understand its current state. The way of life and thought in Russia today is what can be called the current state of Russian civilization.

3. Global socio-political problems, negative manifestations of the arms race and disarmament tasks

Global problems of a socio-political nature are:

Preventing Nuclear War;

Ending the arms race, resolving regional and interstate conflicts;

Building a non-violent world based on the establishment of trust between peoples, strengthening the system of universal security.

In the second half of the XX century. humanity is faced with a group of problems, on the solution of which further social progress and the fate of civilizations depend. These problems are called global (translated from the Latin. "Globe" - Earth, globe). These include, first of all, the following: preventing the threat of a new world war, overcoming the ecological crisis and its consequences, reducing the gap in the level of economic development between the developed countries of the West and developing countries of the Third World, stabilizing the demographic situation on the planet. Problems of health protection and prevention of AIDS, drug addiction, the revival of cultural and moral values, and the fight against international terrorism are also gaining increasing importance.

Reflecting on the causes of the emergence of global problems, scientists point out, first of all, to the emerging global community of people, the integrity of the modern world, which is provided primarily by deep economic ties, enhanced political, cultural contacts, the latest means mass communication... In conditions when the planet becomes a single home for mankind, many contradictions, conflicts, problems can outgrow the local framework and acquire a global global character.

But it's not only that. The very actively transforming human activity in power and consequences (both creative and destructive) is now comparable to the most formidable forces of nature. Summoning the mighty productive forces, humanity can not always put them under its reasonable control. The level of social organization, political thinking and ecological consciousness, spiritual and moral orientations are still very far from the requirements of the era.

Global problems should be considered those that affect not a specific person, not some group of people, even a single country or group of countries, but those that affect the vital interests of the majority of humanity and may concern any individual person. Expansion and deepening of economic, social, political, socio-cultural, political-cultural and other ties and institutions have an ever-growing impact on the daily life of people in the most remote parts of the world.

At the same time, the actions of nation states and even local communities can have important global consequences. Any local event can somehow acquire global significance and, conversely, any global event can radically change the state of affairs in individual regions, countries, local communities.

So, the problems generated by fundamental changes in the living conditions of the world society that threaten its existence are called global problems of our time. The first such problem was the real danger of self-destruction of mankind, which first appeared in history, associated with the emergence of nuclear weapons and the build-up of nuclear potential. This problem was first formulated as a global one in the well-known manifesto of A. Einstein, B. Russell and nine other prominent scientists, published in 1955. Moiseev's model of the global climate of "nuclear winter" - a mathematical description of the processes that can occur as a result of a nuclear war in animate and inanimate nature and in society. Following the threat of nuclear self-destruction of mankind, energy and environmental problems were realized.

The arms race is the key problem on which the solution of all the others depends. In the context of the confrontation between the two world superpowers - the USSR and the United States - in principle there could be no global approach to solving other problems. Its beginning was associated with atomic weapons... As you know, in 1945 the United States turned out to be the only nuclear power in the world. During the war with Japan, they detonated atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Strategic superiority led the American military to make various plans for a preemptive strike against the USSR. But the American monopoly on nuclear weapons lasted only four years. In 1949, the USSR tested its first atomic bomb... This event was a real shock for the Western world. In the course of further accelerated development in the USSR, nuclear, and then thermonuclear weapons were soon created. Fighting has become very dangerous for everyone, and is fraught with very bad consequences. The accumulated nuclear potential was enormous, but the gigantic stocks of destructive weapons were of no use, and the costs of their production and storage were growing. If earlier they said “we can destroy you, but you cannot destroy us”, now the wording has changed. They began to say "you can destroy us 38 times, but we can destroy you 64!" The disputes are fruitless, especially considering that if a war broke out and one of the opponents used nuclear weapons, very soon nothing would remain, not only of him, but of the entire planet.

The arms race grew rapidly. As soon as one of the parties created any fundamentally new weapon, its opponent threw all the forces and resources to achieve the same. The insane competition has affected all areas of the war industry. We competed everywhere: in creation the latest systems small arms, in new designs of tanks, aircraft, ships and submarines, but perhaps the most dramatic was the rocketry competition. The entire so-called peaceful space in those days was not even the visible part of the iceberg, but a snow cap on the visible part. The USA has overtaken the USSR in the number of nuclear weapons. The USSR overtook the USA in rocketry. The USSR was the first in the world to launch a satellite, and in 1961 it was the first to send a man into space. The Americans could not bear such a clear superiority. As a result - their landing on the moon. At this point, the parties reached strategic parity. However, this did not stop the arms race. On the contrary, it has spread to all industries that have at least some relation to weapons. This includes, for example, the race to create supercomputers. Here the West took unconditional revenge for the lag in the field of rocketry, since for purely ideological reasons the USSR missed a breakthrough in this area, equating cybernetics, along with genetics, with "the corrupt girls of imperialism." The arms race has even touched on education. After Gagarin's flight, the United States was forced to revise the foundations of the education system and introduce fundamentally new teaching methods.

The arms race was subsequently voluntarily suspended by both sides. A number of treaties were concluded limiting the accumulation of weapons. Such as, for example, the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, in outer space and under water (08/05/1963), the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Creation of Nuclear-Free Zones (1968), the SALT-1 Agreement (Limitation and Reduction of Strategic Arms) (1972), the Convention on the Prohibition of Development, Production and Stockpiling bacteriological and toxin weapons and their destruction (1972) and many others.

War as a solution international issues, bringing with it massive destruction and death of many people, giving rise to the desire for violence and the spirit of aggression, was condemned by thinkers - humanists of all historical eras... Indeed, out of more than four thousand years of history known to us, only about three hundred were completely peaceful. The rest of the time, wars were raging in one place or another on the Earth. XX century. went down in history as an era that gave rise to two world wars, in which dozens of countries and millions of people participated.

According to the unanimous assessment of many scientists and politicians, the third World War if it breaks out, it will be the tragic end of the entire history of human civilization. Calculations carried out by researchers from different countries, including ours, show that the most probable and most destructive consequence of a nuclear war for all living things will be the onset of a “nuclear winter”. The consequences of a nuclear war will be catastrophic not only for those who will participate in it - they will affect everyone. That is why the prevention of nuclear war is a global problem of our time. Can a nuclear war be prevented? Indeed, many military arsenals of all countries of the world possessing nuclear weapons are filled with a variety of weapons. The tests of the newest military equipment... Even 5% already accumulated by the great powers nuclear stocks enough to plunge the planet into irreversible ecological disaster. Local military conflicts do not stop either, each of which is fraught with the danger of escalating into a regional and even global one.

For the first time the world community began to think about the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the 60s of the last century, when such nuclear powers as the USSR, USA, Great Britain, France had already appeared; and China was ready to join them. At this time, countries such as Israel, Sweden, Italy, and others began to seriously think about nuclear weapons and even started developing them.

In the same 60s, Ireland initiated the creation of an international legal document that laid the foundations for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The USSR, the USA and England began to develop the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. They became the first parties to this agreement. It was signed on 07/01/1968, but entered into force in March 1970. France and China entered into this treaty several decades later.

Its main goals are to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons, to stimulate cooperation in the peaceful use of the atom with guarantees from the participating parties, to facilitate negotiations on ending the rivalry in the development of nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal of their complete elimination.

Under the terms of this Treaty, nuclear-weapon states undertake not to provide assistance to nuclear-free states in acquiring nuclear explosive devices. Nuclear-free states undertake not to manufacture or purchase such devices. One of the provisions of the Treaty requires the IAEA to implement safeguards measures, including inspection nuclear materials used in peace projects by nuclear-free states parties to the Treaty. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Article 10, paragraph 2) states that 25 years after the Treaty enters into force, a conference is called to decide whether it should remain in force or not. The reports of the conference were carried out according to the terms of the Treaty every five years, and in 1995, when it came to an end 25 summer period actions, the parties - participants unanimously supported its indefinite extension. They also adopted three binding Declarations of Principles: - reaffirmation of previous commitments with regard to nuclear weapons and an end to all nuclear testing; - strengthening the procedures for monitoring disarmament; - creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East and strict observance of the terms of the Treaty by all countries without exception.

There are 178 states parties to the treaty, including the existing nuclear powers that have come out in favor of a missile technology control regime. There are also four countries conducting nuclear activities that have not entered into the Treaty: Israel, India, Pakistan, Cuba. An important element strengthening the nonproliferation regime was the help of the West in this area. This aid shows that the West does not want to see the CIS countries as a source of threats spreading. At the G-8 summit in Canada in July 2002, important decisions were made on international terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The most important constituent elements of the regimes for the non-proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction are: - security of storage, storage, transportation of weapons of mass destruction and materials suitable for their production; - a system for preventing illicit trafficking in nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and materials.

The danger of global self-destruction by nuclear (chemical, biological) weapons after the end of the confrontation between East and West has not disappeared - it has escaped from the control of superpowers and is now associated with the threat not only from states, but also from non-state terrorism. Terrorism is very a big problem in our time. Modern terrorism acts in the form of terrorist acts on an international scale. Terrorism appears when a society is going through a deep crisis, first of all, a crisis of ideology and the state-legal system. In such a society, various opposition groups appear - political, social, national, religious. For them, the legality of the existing government becomes questionable. Terrorism as mass and politically significant phenomenon- the result of a general "de-ideologization", when individual groups in society easily question the legality and rights of the state, and thus self-justify their transition to terror in order to achieve their own goals. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 in the United States highlighted the danger of a possible hit of weapons mass destruction into the hands of terrorists. This attack could be even more devastating if terrorists managed to obtain and use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. One of the most effective ways to prevent this kind of threat is to strengthen the multilateral regimes already developed to ban the use of nuclear, chemical, biological weapons and preventing its spread.

The key tasks of disarmament are to maintain international peace and security, multilateral disarmament and arms limitation. The highest priority is given to the reduction and, ultimately, elimination of weapons of mass destruction. While the goal of reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons has remained unchanged over the years, the scope of discussions and negotiations on disarmament is changing, reflecting the evolution of political realities and the international situation.

At the moment, not everyone has an idea about the existing danger, about the possibility and size of a catastrophe with the use of weapons of mass destruction. Humanity does not pay due attention to this problem due to ignorance and unawareness of the entire depth of the problem. In no case should we forget that the threat of the use of weapons of mass destruction, unfortunately, is present in everyday life through the active propaganda of violence. This phenomenon is happening all over the world. Preventing the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is recognized by Russia, the United States and other countries as one of the main tasks of ensuring their national security. Scientists, politicians, and non-governmental organizations are involved in security issues related to armed conflicts and solving global problems. In the course of work, international and regional conferences, seminars and meetings are held, reports and collections of articles are published.

All global problems are permeated with the idea of the geographical unity of mankind and require broad international cooperation for their solution. In terms of new political thinking, achievements lasting peace on Earth is possible only under the conditions of the establishment of a new type of relations between all states - relations of all-round cooperation. Hence the need for a multidimensional approach that meets the entire spectrum of problems, a new level of partnership both between states and between non-state structures, since the efforts of governments alone are not enough to solve any of the global problems facing the world.

Conclusion

Having considered the questions posed in this work, the following conclusions can be drawn: - the general meaning of world development can be considered as the parallel formation of two types of civilizations; - the choice of the path of development, introduction to the western or eastern model of social structure for modern Russia is of particular importance in the aspect of the country's reformation; - the renewed society is the embodiment of the achievements of world civilization and the historical creativity of the peoples of Russia; - global problems of our time are closely related to each other; - the solution to global problems should be comprehensive; - without the use of appropriate measures, the threat to the security of the world may get out of the control of the world community.

So, which way should Russia go, which civilization to choose? The answer is this: relying on the global trends of social progress, Russia will perceive the features of civilizations that will facilitate forward movement and reject those that will hinder this.

The solution of global problems presupposes the creation of such a world order, which would be based on the following initial principles: - recognition of the priority of universal human values, attitude to human life and the world as the highest values of humanity; - rejection of war as a means of resolving controversial issues, the tireless search for peaceful, political ways to resolve all conflicts and problems; - recognition of the right of peoples to freely and independently choose their own destiny; - understanding of the modern world as an integral and interconnected community of people.

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Environmental pollution arises due to the fact that we get used to some actions, and when we find out how harmful they are, we cannot refuse them. This is how our habits become our enemies. The essence of pollution is the accumulation of harmful, toxic substances (toxins) in the environment. Currently, this process is so intense that natural cleansing mechanisms are unable to cope with the influx of toxins. And the consequences of environmental pollution will be that in all the products of nature that we considered safe, substances created by us and often life-threatening will appear. In addition, many species of living organisms are very sensitive to the concentration of harmful substances, so an increase in this concentration will lead to the extinction of many species of life on Earth.

Rapid population growth. At the end of the 18th century, the level of medical care in general rose in European countries. The mortality rate began to decrease, but the birth rate remained at the same level. This led to an increase in the population. However, by the middle of the 20th century, there was a decline in the birth rate in these countries, as a result of which the natural increase was greatly reduced. A different picture is characteristic of those countries that now have developing status. In them, in the middle of the 20th century, there was a sharp improvement in medical care. However, the birth rate remained high and, as a result, huge population growth rates. The so-called "population explosion" is one of the most important problems today. As a rule, a high rate of natural increase is characteristic of countries with an underdeveloped economy, where the state cannot provide human existence for the already existing population. The "population explosion" is due to the fact that in countries with traditionally high mortality and therefore high birth rates, the level of medical care has been increased. Mortality has declined, but the birth rate has remained high. The results of the population explosion are already visible today. Territories with a surplus of population are subject to destructive processes: soil erosion, deforestation; food problems, unsanitary conditions and many others are acute.

The problem of the overcrowded "South" due to the fact that the population explosion is associated with specific regions: Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America. The reason for the real problem is that these countries do not have a sufficiently developed economy and cannot independently solve the problems they face.

Interethnic strife. In a number of regions of the world, interethnic contradictions have not been completely overcome, many peoples have not been able to create their own nation states, self-determination and for them the problem of ethnic self-identity is very relevant (for example, Kurds, a number of Balkan peoples, peoples the former USSR). In a number of cases, inter-confessional strife is added to interethnic strife, if the peoples living nearby profess different religions, often such a neighborhood gives rise to conflicts, including armed ones. Thus, the problem of interethnic strife is closely related to the existence of local conflicts.

Local conflicts. They carry in themselves, first of all, all the horrors and calamities of war. But besides this, there is always the danger of a local conflict escalating into a global one, because strong developed countries can take positions of different parties in the settlement of the conflict. In the event of a global war, complete ruin, degradation of civilization is certainly guaranteed. Unless the worst happens - nuclear war.

Nuclear war. It consists in the fact that in the course of hostilities weapons of mass destruction will be used, based on the receipt of energy in the course of nuclear and thermonuclear reactions. The danger lies in the fact that, firstly, the destructive effect of such weapons is long enough in time, secondly, there is practically no protection from it, and thirdly, the nuclear weapons available today are enough to destroy everything several times living on earth. In addition, after the massive use of nuclear weapons, even at one point in the world, we will all face a nuclear winter. Thus, nuclear weapons are an easy way to destroy humanity. It doesn't matter who comes first, what matters is that if someone pushes the button first, nothing else will happen. This is why many nuclear countries sign conventions on the prohibition of the use and testing of nuclear weapons.

Among global political issues the poles of power remaining on the world arena, the difference of interests (USA - Europe - Russia - Asia-Pacific region), the struggle for spheres of influence can also be attributed. The road to a just world order is still long enough.

One of the problems is the difference in political systems... Most modern states have fully realized the advantages of democracy, the age of totalitarian regimes on earth is constantly shrinking, but this problem has not yet been fully exhausted - peculiar reserves of totalitarianism remain in the East (North Korea, Iraq, a number of African countries), the political modernization of China, Cuba has not been carried out, and many countries, having declared their commitment to democracy in words, are in no hurry to confirm words with deeds. Democracy here is too immature and imperfect, the threat of restoration of totalitarian order remains (this is all post-Soviet space- Russia, the republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States, some countries of Eastern Europe).

Food problem Is an inability developing countries fully feed their population. In fact, the potential of the planet and modern technologies allow us to feed twice more people than the entire population of the Earth today, moreover, the volume of food production in the world can meet the needs of the entire planet. However, for economic reasons, a “take and divide” solution is not possible.

Depletion of resources. Previously, a person could calmly develop deposits, caring only that it was economically profitable for him. But current situation shows that soon minerals will simply run out. So, at the current level of production, oil reserves cannot be enough for 100-200 years; natural gas- 100 years. Depletion threatens not only non-renewable resources, but also renewable resources.

A difficult problem remains the Club of Rome, identified back in the 1970s. the problem of economic growth and its limits.

Spiritual problems. Global problems are diverse, complex and contradictory. They cover a wide range of human relations, human activities. How can a person preserve his humanity, remain himself? Their solution is the task of the entire planet, and this requires peaceful, voluntary, conscious cooperation of all inhabitants of the cradle of humanity. We can say that today we are all in the same boat in the middle of the stormy sea, a hole has formed in the bottom of this boat. This is not the time to debate and argue about what to do, where to row and how to scoop out the water. Everyone needs to get up and row in one direction, as well as jointly scoop up the water and try to plug the gap. If we get bogged down in discussions, we will perish.

A number of problems are associated with the spiritual life of modern mankind, the degradation of "mass culture", the erosion of established moral and moral guidelines, the departure of people from real problems to the world of illusions generated by drug intoxication, the use of special psychotropic drugs, the scientific and technological revolution, especially its modern stage - mass computerization, progress towards solving the problem of creating artificial intelligence. Humanity is threatened with losing its spirituality, its ability to perceive and feel the beautiful, to create this beautiful. In the struggle for the preservation of man, scientists rallied together to create the movement of the "blue" (as opposed to the "green" - fighters for the protection of nature). This movement defends the right of a person to remain himself, even in the century modern technologies... It must be admitted that in many respects it is necessary to protect a person from himself. After all, who else, if not we, strive to entrust everything to the machine, and indulge in laziness ourselves, waste time on completely useless activities. We are ready to be content with ersatz culture, cheap imitations of great masters. We stopped going to museums, reading books, writing poetry. Publishers that undertake to publish works of old masters-classics do not dare to print their products in large editions, but the entire market is overstocked with cheap, large-circulation "reading" - detective stories with shooting, violence, chases, sugary love stories, simple science fiction and comics about space monsters. These books eat up our time, giving no mind or heart to write. We forget the live sounds and voices of musical instruments: violin, cello, guitar, piano. Instead, crazy decibels of artificial, synthetic sound. Understanding all this, one can really doubt the value of the human race.

The solution of these problems is possible only with the concerted efforts of all modern mankind. We all must follow a single path that will lead us out of the current crisis. There are several points of view on the way out of the crisis. Consider two opposing views on what should be the role of man in the world, how serious the existing and expected problems with the environment and resources really are, and what to do about these problems.

Neo-Malthusians (followers of the 19th century scientist Malthus) are confident that if current trends continue, the world will become even more overpopulated and more polluted than it is now, and many types of resources will be degraded or depleted. They are confident that such a situation will lead to serious political and economic collisions and increase the threat of war using nuclear and conventional weapons as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

The members of the opposition group are called Cornucopians. This term comes from the word cornucopia (lat.), Meaning cornucopia, a symbol of wealth. Most Cornucopians are economists. They are confident that if current trends continue, economic growth and technological advances will ensure the creation of a less overpopulated, less polluted and richer world community. We can say that the disputes between them are akin to disputes between optimists and pessimists. Which one is right? Can it be argued that only one of the parties is right in this dispute?

The leading scientists of the modern world could not stay away from the discussion and search for solutions to global problems. They have formed a number of influential international organizations that influence the adoption of important political decisions... One such organization, the Club of Rome, was created in 1968 by a group of scientists to discuss the problems of the survival of human civilization. For many years the head of the club was the Italian public figure Aurelio Peccei. It was Peccei that formulated the main task of the organization - the development of research in the field of ecology, depletion of resources, economic growth, population explosion, etc. Among the organizers is Eduard Pestel, a famous German scientist, an expert in the field of theory system analysis and automated control methods. The first report to the Club of Rome was titled The Limits to Growth, prepared by a research team led by Dennis and Donela Meadows at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and published in 1972. The report condemned the unrestrained growth of production in the world. The second report appeared in 1974 and was titled “Humanity at a Crossroads”. It was compiled by E. Pestel and M. Mesarovich. In it, in contrast to the first report, the concept of "organic growth" was put forward as promising for human civilization, in which the world was likened to a living organism, where each region has its own functions within a single whole.

The third report to the Club of Rome was written by the renowned Dutch economist Jan Tienberger and his group. It was called "Perestroika international order"Or RIO. The RIO project proceeded from the idea of interdependence of all countries and peoples, the need for changes in the socio-economic, political and cultural spheres and the formation of a new world order. The purpose of this order should be to coordinate the interests of all countries, both developed and developing, to create an effective regulatory system international relations, the problem of creditor states and debtor states must be resolved. Those of them who, in principle, are not able to pay off the debts accumulated over decades of unequal existence in the world market, should be cut off. The world must become more just, otherwise it has little chance of survival. The arms race must end. It is pointless and futile to spend huge funds and human forces on the creation of weapons, it is necessary to direct all efforts to rational use resources of the earth, the preservation of the natural balance, the achievement of all people of the earth worthy of their standard of living.

In addition to the Club of Rome, there is the Pugwash movement, founded by a number of modern humanist scholars (for example, Bertrand Russell, Albert Schweitzer). The main task of this movement is to discuss the problem of the responsibility of scientists for the fate of their discoveries, so that these discoveries are not used for evil, so that they are organically combined with the humanistic nature of man, and serve him for his good.

Section "Person"

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