Questions of global problems of our time. Global problems

Modernity is a series of social problems of the development of civilization, which, however, are not limited exclusively to the social aspect, and affect almost all areas of society: economic, political, environmental, psychological. These problems have developed over the course of many years, which are characterized by the rapid development of various spheres of human life, and therefore the methods for solving them do not have clear options.

Philosophy and global problems of our time

Awareness of any problems is the first stage in solving them, because only understanding can lead to effective actions. For the first time, the global problems of our time were comprehended by philosophers. Indeed, who else but philosophers will be engaged in understanding the dynamics of the development of civilization? After all, global problems require full analysis and consideration of different points of view.

The main global problems of our time

So, he studies global processes. They arise as an objective factor of human existence, i.e. arise due to human activities. Global problems of our time are not numerous:

1. The so-called “neglectable aging”. This problem was first raised in 1990 by Caleb Finch. Here we are talking about expanding the boundaries of life expectancy. A lot of scientific research has been devoted to this topic, which has been aimed at studying the causes of aging and methods that can slow it down or even reverse it. However, as practice shows, the solution to this issue is quite a long way off.
2. The North-South problem. It includes understanding the large development gap between northern and southern countries. Thus, in most countries of the South, the concepts of “hunger” and “poverty” are still a pressing problem for large parts of the population.
3. The problem of preventing thermonuclear war. It implies the damage that could be caused to all of humanity in the event of the use of nuclear or thermonuclear weapons. The problem of peace between peoples and political forces, the struggle for common prosperity, is also acute here.
4. Preventing pollution and maintaining ecological balance.
5. Global warming.
6. The problem of diseases: AIDS, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
7. Demographic imbalance.
8. Terrorism.

Global problems of our time: what are the solutions?

1. Negligible aging. Modern science is taking steps towards studying aging, but the question of the feasibility of this still remains relevant. In the mythological legends of different peoples one can find the idea of ​​eternal life, however, the elements that make up the concept of evolution today conflict with the idea of ​​eternal life and prolongation of youth.
2. The problem of the North and South, which is illiteracy and poverty of the population of southern countries, is solved with the help of charitable actions, but it cannot be solved until the countries lagging behind in development become developed in political and economic aspects.
3. The problem of preventing the use of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, in fact, cannot be exhausted as long as the capitalist understanding of relations dominates in society. Only with the transition to another level of assessment human life and peaceful coexistence the problem can be solved. Acts and agreements concluded between countries on non-use are not a 100% guarantee that war will not break out one day.
4. The problem of maintaining the ecological balance of the planet today is being solved with the help of political forces that are concerned about this, as well as with the help of organizations that are trying to preserve endangered species of animals, planting plants and organizing events and campaigns that are aimed at attracting public attention to this problem . However, a technological society is unlikely to be able to preserve the environment 100%.
5. Questions about global warming have long worried scientists, but the causes that cause warming cannot currently be eliminated.
6. Problems with incurable diseases modern stage find a partial solution that medicine offers. Fortunately, today this issue is relevant for scientific knowledge and the state is allocating funds to ensure that these problems are studied and effective medicines are invented by doctors.
7. The demographic imbalance between the countries of the south and the north finds a solution in the form of legislative acts: for example, Russian legislation encourages high birth rates in the form of additional payments to large families, and, for example, Japanese legislation, on the contrary, limits the ability of families to have many children.
8. Currently, the problem of terrorism is very acute after a number of high-profile tragic incidents. The internal security services of states are doing everything possible to counter terrorism on the territory of their country and prevent the unification of terrorist organizations on an international scale.

INTRODUCTION

Global problems of humanity are problems and situations that cover many countries, the Earth's atmosphere, the World Ocean and near-Earth space and affect the entire population of the Earth.

Global problems of humanity cannot be solved by the efforts of one country; jointly developed provisions on the protection of environment, coordinated economic policy, assistance to backward countries, etc.

Everything is interconnected with everything - says the first environmental law. This means that you cannot take a single step without touching, and sometimes even disturbing, something from the environment. Every human step on an ordinary lawn means dozens of destroyed microorganisms, frightened insects, changing migration routes, and perhaps reducing their natural productivity.

Already in the last century, human concern arose for the fate of the planet, and in the current century it has reached a crisis in the global ecological system due to renewed stress on the natural environment.

Global problems of our time are a set of problems of humanity, on the solution of which social progress and the preservation of civilization depend.

What are global problems? It would seem that the question has long been clear, and their range was determined back in the early 70s, when the term “global studies” itself began to be used, and the first models of global development appeared.

One of the definitions refers to global as “problems that arise as a result of the objective development of society, create threats to all of humanity and require the united efforts of the entire world community to be solved.”

The correctness of this definition depends on which problems are classified as global. If this is a narrow circle of higher, planetary problems, then it is entirely true. If we add here problems such as natural disasters (it is global only in the sense of the possibility of manifestation in the region), then this definition turns out to be narrow and limiting, which is its meaning.

Firstly, global problems are problems that affect not only the interests of individual people, but can affect the fate of all humanity. The important word here is “fate”, which refers to the prospects for the future development of the world.

Secondly, global problems cannot be solved on their own or even through the efforts of individual countries. They require focused and organized efforts of the entire global community. Unresolved global problems may lead in the future to serious, possibly irreversible consequences for humans and their environment.

Thirdly, global problems are closely related to one another. That is why it is so difficult to even theoretically isolate and systematize them, let alone develop a system of successive steps to solve them. Generally recognized global problems include: environmental pollution, resource problems, population problems, nuclear weapons and a number of others.

Yuri Gladky made interesting attempt classification of global problems, highlighting three main groups:

1. Problems of a political and socio-economic nature.

2. Problems of natural and economic nature

3. Problems of a social nature.

Awareness of global problems and the urgency of revising many habitual stereotypes came to us late, much later than the publication in the West of the first global models and calls to stop economic growth. Meanwhile, all global problems are closely interconnected.

Nature conservation until recently was a matter for individuals and societies, and ecology initially had nothing to do with nature conservation. With this name, Ernest Haeckel in 1866, in his monograph “General Morphology,” christened the science of the interrelations of animals and plants living in a certain territory, their relationships with each other and with living conditions.

Who eats what or whom, and how it adapts to seasonal climate changes are the main questions of primary ecology. With the exception of a narrow circle of specialists, no one knew anything about it. And now the word “ecology” is on everyone’s lips.

Such abrupt change over the course of 30 years occurred due to two interrelated circumstances characteristic of the second half of the century: the growth of the Earth's population and the scientific and technological revolution.

The rapid growth of the Earth's population is called the population explosion.

It was accompanied by the seizure of vast territories from nature for residential buildings and public institutions, roads and railways, airports and marinas, crops and pastures.

Simultaneously with the demographic explosion, a scientific and technological revolution occurred. Man mastered nuclear energy, rocket technology and went into space. He invented the computer, created electronics and the synthetic materials industry.

The demographic explosion and the scientific and technological revolution have led to a colossal increase in the consumption of natural resources. At such rates of consumption, it has become obvious that many natural resources will be depleted in the near future. At the same time, waste from giant industries began to increasingly pollute the environment, destroying the health of the population. In all industrialized countries, cancer, chronic pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases are widespread.

Scientists were the first to sound the alarm. Beginning in 1968, the Italian economist Aurelio Peccien began annually gathering prominent experts from different countries in Rome to discuss issues about the future of civilization. These meetings were called the Club of Rome. In the spring of 1972, the first book prepared by the Club of Rome was published, with the characteristic title “The Limits to Growth.” They appealed to the governments of all countries of the world to create special government agencies for these purposes. In different countries, ministries, departments and committees on ecology began to be created, and their main goal was monitoring the natural environment and combating its pollution to preserve public health.

Research on human ecology required a theoretical framework. First Russian and then foreign researchers recognized the teachings of V.I. as such a basis. Vernadsky about the biosphere and the inevitability of its evolutionary transformation into the environment of the human mind - the noosphere.

However, the anthropogenic impact on nature has reached such proportions that global problems have arisen that no one could even suspect about at the beginning of the 20th century.

Classification

The development of a classification of global problems was the result of long-term research and generalization of the experience of several decades of their study.

Researchers have proposed many classification options. Let us consider here a version of the classification developed by domestic scientists I.T. Frolov and V.V. Zagladin. According to this option, all global problems are divided into three large groups.

The first group consists of those problems that are associated with relations between the main social communities of humanity, i.e. between groups of states with similar political, economic and other interests: “East-West”, rich and poor countries, etc. These problems should be called intersocial. These include the problem of preventing war and ensuring peace, as well as establishing a fair international economic order. Environmental problems are particularly acute here, as are countless others. Underdeveloped and moderately developed countries make up the vast majority of the planet's population - about five billion out of six. The general trend of modern development, unfortunately, is such that the gap between the “golden billion” and the rest of humanity is not decreasing, but increasing.

The second group unites those problems that are generated by the interaction of society and nature. They are associated with the limited ability of the environment to withstand anthropogenic loads. These are problems such as the provision of energy, fuel, raw materials, fresh water etc. The environmental problem also belongs to this group, i.e. the problem of protecting nature from irreversible negative changes, as well as the task of rational development of the World Ocean and outer space.

These are, firstly, environmental problems; secondly, problems associated with the development of nature by society, i.e. problems of raw materials and energy resources; thirdly, problems associated with relatively new global objects - outer space and the World Ocean.

The third group of global problems consists of those associated with the “individual-society” system. They directly concern the individual and depend on the ability of society to provide real opportunities for personal development. These include health and education issues, as well as population control issues.

The third large group of problems is directly related to man, to his individual existence. These are problems of “human qualities” - the development of moral, intellectual and other inclinations of a person, ensuring a healthy lifestyle, normal mental development. Particular attention to these problems has become a characteristic feature of global studies since the second half of the 70s.

2.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PROBLEM

People have always been crowded on the planet. Aristotle and other ancient philosophers were concerned about the overpopulation of the Earth. But this cramped space also served as an incentive for people to strive to explore new spaces on earth. This was the stimulus of the Great geographical discoveries, technical inventions, the scientific process itself.

The growing population of the planet requires an ever greater increase in the pace of economic development in order to maintain balance. However, if we take into account the current state of technology, such growth will cause increasing pollution of the environment and may even lead to the irreversible destruction of nature, which gives us all food and supports all life.

It is difficult to judge the phenomenon of a demographic explosion in Russia, where the population has begun to decline since 1993, and even in Western Europe, where it is growing very slowly, but it is well illustrated by demographic statistics from China, African countries, Latin America, southern Asia, where the population is growing at a gigantic pace.

At the beginning of the century, 1.5 billion people lived on Earth. In 1950, despite losses in two world wars, the population increased to 2.5 billion, and then began to increase annually by 70-100 million people. In 1993, the world's population reached 5.5 billion people, that is, doubled compared to 1950, and in 2000 it will exceed 6 billion.

In a finite space, growth cannot be infinite. In all likelihood, the current number of people on Earth will double. Perhaps it will stabilize at 10-12, maybe 14 billion people by the end of the century. The conclusion follows: we must hurry today to stop the slide towards irreversible situations in the future.

A significant feature of the modern demographic picture of the world is that 90%2 of population growth occurs in developing countries. To present a real picture of the world, you need to know how the majority of humanity lives.

The direct link between poverty and population explosion is visible on global, continental and regional scales. Africa, a continent that is in the most difficult crisis ecological and economic state, has the highest population growth rate in the world, and unlike other continents, it is not yet declining there. This completes a vicious circle: poverty

Rapid population growth means degradation of natural life support systems.

The gap between accelerated population growth and insufficient industrial development is further exacerbated by the widespread decline in production, which makes it difficult to solve the enormous problem of unemployment in developing countries. Almost a third of their working population is classified as fully or partially unemployed. Poverty does not reduce, but rather increases, incentives to have more children. Children are an important part of the family workforce. From an early age, they collect brushwood, prepare fuel for cooking, herd livestock, nurse younger children, and do a lot of other household work.

So, in reality, the danger for our planet is poverty, in which the vast majority of the world's population lives. The demographic explosion and the forced destruction of the natural basis of existence are largely consequences of poverty.

The view that the rapidly growing population of developing countries is main reason increasing global raw material and environmental shortages is as simple as it is false. Swedish environmental scientist Rolf Edberg wrote: “Two thirds of the world’s population are forced to settle for a standard of living that is 5-10% of the level in the richest countries. A Swede, a Swiss, an American consume 40 times more resources Earth than a Somali eats in

75 times more meat products than an Indian. A more equitable distribution of the earth's resources could first of all be expressed in the fact that the wealthy fourth part of the planet's population - at least out of an instinct for self-preservation - would refuse direct

2.2. ECOLOGICAL

Ecology was born as a purely biological science of relationships

"organism - environment". With increasing anthropogenic and technogenic pressure on the environment, the insufficiency of this approach has become obvious. Currently, there are no phenomena, processes or territories unaffected by this powerful pressure. The range of sciences involved in environmental issues has expanded enormously.

Environmental problems of our time, in terms of their scale, can be divided into local, regional and global and require different means of solution and scientific developments of different nature for their solution.

To solve such problems we already need scientific research. The anthropogenic impact on nature has reached such proportions that global problems have arisen.

Air pollution

The most common air pollutants enter the atmosphere mainly in two forms: either in the form of suspended particles or in the form of gases. Carbon dioxide. As a result of fuel combustion and cement production, huge amounts of this gas are released into the atmosphere. This gas itself is not poisonous. Carbon monoxide. The combustion of fuel, which creates most of the gaseous and aerosol pollution in the atmosphere, serves as a source of another carbon compound - carbon monoxide. It is poisonous and its danger is aggravated by the fact that it has neither color nor smell, and poisoning with it can occur unnoticed.

Hydrocarbons entering the atmosphere as a result of human activities make up a small proportion of naturally occurring hydrocarbons, but their pollution is very important. Their release into the atmosphere can occur at any stage of production, processing, storage, transportation and use of substances and materials containing hydrocarbons. More than half of the hydrocarbons produced by humans enter the air as a result of incomplete combustion of gasoline and diesel fuel during the operation of cars and other vehicles. Sulfur dioxide. Atmospheric pollution with sulfur compounds has important environmental consequences. The main sources of sulfur dioxide are volcanic activity, as well as the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur compounds.

Soil pollution

Almost all pollutants that are initially released into the atmosphere eventually end up on the surface of land and water. Settling aerosols may contain toxic heavy metals - lead, mercury, copper, vanadium, cobalt, nickel. Acids also enter the soil with rain. By combining with it, metals can transform into soluble compounds available to plants. Substances that are constantly present in the soil also turn into soluble forms, which sometimes leads to the death of plants.

Water pollution

Water used by humans ultimately returns to the natural environment. But, apart from the evaporated water, this is no longer pure water, but domestic, industrial and agricultural wastewater, usually not treated or not treated sufficiently. Thus, freshwater bodies of water - rivers, lakes, land and coastal areas of the seas - are polluted. There are three types of water pollution – biological, chemical and physical.

2.3. WARMING

The sharp climate warming that began in the second half of the 20th century is a reliable fact. We feel it in winters that are milder than before. The average temperature of the surface layer of air compared to 1956-1957, when the First International Geophysical Year was held, increased by 0.7 (C). There is no warming at the equator, but the closer to the poles, the more noticeable it is. At the North Pole, the subglacial water warmed by 1(C2) and the ice cover began to melt from below.

Some scientists believe that this is the result of burning a huge mass organic fuel and release into the atmosphere large quantities carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, that is, it impedes the transfer of heat from the Earth's surface.

So what is the greenhouse effect? Billions of tons of carbon dioxide enter the atmosphere every hour as a result of the combustion of coal and oil, natural gas and firewood, millions of tons of methane rise into the atmosphere from gas development, from the rice fields of Asia, water vapor and chlorofluorocarbons are released there. All of these are “greenhouse gases.” Just as in a greenhouse, a glass roof and walls allow solar radiation to pass through, but do not allow heat to escape, so carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse gases” are almost transparent to the sun’s rays, but they retain long-wave thermal radiation from the Earth and do not allow it to escape into space.

The forecast for the future (2040) suggests a possible temperature increase of 1.5 - 4.5.

A warming climate raises a number of related questions.

What are the prospects for its further development? How will warming affect the increase in evaporation from the surface of the World Ocean and how will this affect the amount of precipitation? How will this precipitation be distributed over the area?

All these questions can be answered accurately.

2.4. Ozone holes

The environmental problem of the ozone layer is no less scientifically complex. As is known, life on Earth appeared only after the formation of a protective ozone layer planet, covering her from the cruel ultraviolet radiation. For many centuries there were no signs of trouble. However, in recent decades, intensive destruction of this layer has been noticed.

The problem of the ozone layer arose in 1982, when a probe launched from a British station in Antarctica discovered a sharp decrease in ozone levels at an altitude of 25 - 30 kilometers. Since then, an ozone “hole” of varying shapes and sizes has been continuously recorded over Antarctica. According to the latest data for 1992, it is equal to 23 million square kilometers, that is, an area equal to the entire North America. Later, the same “hole” was discovered over the Canadian Arctic archipelago, over Spitsbergen, and then in different places in Eurasia, in particular over Voronezh.

The depletion of the ozone layer is a much more dangerous reality for all life on Earth than the fall of some super-large meteorite, because ozone prevents dangerous radiation from reaching the Earth’s surface. If ozone decreases, humanity faces, at a minimum, an outbreak of skin cancer and eye diseases. In general, increasing the dose of ultraviolet rays can weaken the human immune system, and at the same time reduce the yield of fields, reducing the already narrow food supply base of the Earth.

“It is quite possible that by 2100 the protective ozone blanket will disappear, ultraviolet rays dry up the Earth, animals and plants will die. People will seek salvation under giant artificial glass domes and feed on astronaut food."

The depletion of the ozone layer has worried not only scientists, but also the governments of many countries. The search for reasons began. At first, suspicion fell on chloro- and fluorocarbons used in refrigeration units, the so-called freons. They are indeed easily oxidized by ozone, thereby destroying it. Large sums were allocated to find their replacements. However, refrigeration units are used mainly in countries with warm and hot climates, and for some reason ozone holes are most pronounced in the polar regions. This caused confusion. Then it was found that a lot of ozone is destroyed by the rocket engines of modern aircraft flying at high altitudes, as well as during the launches of spacecraft and satellites.

To finally resolve the issue of the causes of ozone layer depletion, detailed scientific research is needed.

2.5 The greenhouse effect problem

Carbon dioxide is one of the main culprits of the “greenhouse effect”, which is why other known “greenhouse gases” (and there are about 40 of them) determine only about half of global warming. Just as in a greenhouse the glass roof and walls allow solar radiation to pass through, but do not allow heat to escape, so do carbon dioxide along with other “greenhouse gases”. They are practically transparent to the sun's rays, but they retain the Earth's thermal radiation and prevent it from escaping into space. A rise in average global air temperature should inevitably lead to an even more significant reduction in continental glaciers. Climate warming is leading to the melting of polar ice and rising sea levels.

Global warming may cause major agricultural zones to shift in temperature, major floods, persistent droughts, and forest fires. Following the upcoming climate changes, changes in the position of natural zones will inevitably occur: a) reduction in coal consumption, replacement of its natural gases, b) development of nuclear energy, c) development of alternative types of energy (wind, solar, geothermal) d) global energy saving. But the problem of global warming, to some extent, is currently being compensated for by the fact that another problem has developed on its basis. Global dimming problem! At the moment, the planet's temperature has risen only one degree in a hundred years. But according to scientists’ calculations, it should have risen to higher values. But due to global dimming, the effect was reduced. The mechanism of the problem is based on the fact that: rays of sunlight that should pass through the clouds and reach the surface and consequently increase the temperature of the planet and increase the effect of global warming cannot pass through the clouds and are reflected from them as a result of never reaching the surface of the planet. And it is precisely thanks to this effect that the planet’s atmosphere does not heat up rapidly. It would seem easier to do nothing and leave both factors alone, but if this happens, then the person’s health will be in danger.

2.6. DEATH AND DEFORESTATION

One of the reasons for the death of forests in many regions of the world is acid rain, the main culprits of which are power plants. Emissions of sulfur dioxide and their transport over long distances lead to such rain falling far from the sources of emissions. Over the past 20 years (1970 – 1990), the world has lost almost 200 million hectares of forestland, which is equal to the area of ​​the United States east of the Mississippi.

Depletion poses a particularly great environmental threat. tropical forests– “the lungs of the planet” and the main source of the planet’s biological diversity. There, approximately 200 thousand square kilometers are cut down or burned annually, which means 100 thousand species of plants and animals disappear. This process is especially fast in the regions richest in tropical forests - the Amazon and Indonesia.

British ecologist N. Meyers concluded that ten small areas in the tropics contain at least 27% of the total species composition this class of vegetation formations, this list was later expanded to 15 tropical forest “hot spots” that must be preserved at all costs.

In developed countries, acid rain caused damage to large parts of the forest.

The current situation with forests varies greatly across continents. While in Europe and Asia forested areas increased slightly between 1974 and 1989, in Australia they decreased by 2.6% in one year. Even greater forest degradation occurs in certain countries: in Côte d'Et and Ivoire, forest areas decreased by 5.4% over the year, in Thailand - by 4.3%, in Paraguay by 3.4%.

2.7. Desertification

Under the influence of living organisms, water and air, the most important ecosystem, thin and fragile, is gradually formed on the surface layers of the lithosphere - soil, which is called the “skin of the Earth”. This is the guardian of fertility and life. A handful of good soil contains millions of microorganisms that maintain fertility. It takes a century for a layer of soil 1 centimeter thick to form. It can be lost in one field season. According to geologists, before people began to engage in agricultural activities, graze livestock and plow land, rivers annually carried about 9 billion tons of soil into the World Ocean. Nowadays this amount is estimated at approximately 25 billion tons.

Soil erosion, a purely local phenomenon, has now become universal. In the United States, for example, about 44% of cultivated land is susceptible to erosion. Unique rich chernozems containing humus have disappeared in Russia ( organic matter, which determines soil fertility) at 14–16%, which was called the citadel of Russian agriculture. In Russia, the area of ​​the most fertile lands with a humus content of 10–13% has decreased by almost 5 times.

A particularly difficult situation arises when not only the soil layer is demolished, but also the parent rock on which it develops. Then the threshold of irreversible destruction comes, and an anthropogenic (that is, man-made) desert arises.

One of the most formidable, global and fleeting processes of our time is the expansion of desertification, the decline and, in the most extreme cases, the complete destruction of the biological potential of the Earth, which leads to conditions similar to those of a natural desert.

Natural deserts and semi-deserts occupy more than 1/3 earth's surface. These lands are home to about 15% of the world's population. Deserts are natural formations that play a certain role in the overall ecological balance of the planet’s landscapes.

As a result of human activity, by the last quarter of the twentieth century, over 9 million square kilometers of deserts appeared, and in total they already covered 43% of the total land area.

In the 1990s, desertification began to threaten 3.6 million hectares of drylands. This represents 70% of the potentially productive drylands, or total land surface area, and does not include the area of ​​natural deserts.

According to UN experts, current losses of productive land will lead to the fact that by the end of the century the world could lose almost 1/3 of its arable land. Such a loss, at a time of unprecedented population growth and increasing food demand, could be truly disastrous.

Causes of land degradation in different regions of the world.

Deforestation, Overexploitation, Over-ploughing, Industrialization

2.8. Clean water

People have been polluting water since time immemorial. Paradoxical as it may seem, harmful emissions into the atmosphere ultimately end up in water, and the territories of city landfills for solid waste and garbage after each rain and after snowmelt contribute to the pollution of surface and groundwater.

So, clean water is also becoming scarce, and water scarcity can affect faster than the consequences of the “greenhouse effect”: 1.2 billion people live without clean drinking water, 2.3 billion without treatment facilities to use contaminated water. Water consumption for irrigation is growing, now it is 3,300 cubic kilometers per year, 6 times more than the flow of one of the most abundant rivers in the world - the Mississippi. Widespread use of groundwater leads to a decrease in its level. In Beijing, for example, in recent years it has fallen by 4 meters...

Water can also become a subject of internecine conflicts, since 200 largest rivers of the world flow through the territory of two or more countries. For example, the water of the Niger is used by 10 countries, the Nile by 9, and the Amazon by 7 countries.

Our civilization is already called the “civilization of waste” or the Age of disposable things. The wastefulness of industrialized countries is manifested in the huge and growing amount of raw material waste; mountains of garbage are a characteristic feature of all industrial countries of the world. The United States, with 600 kilograms of garbage per capita per year, is the largest producer of household waste in the world; Western Europe and Japan produce half as much, but the growth rate of household waste is growing everywhere. In our country, this increase is 2–5% per year2.

Many new products contain toxic substances - lead, mercury and cadmium - in batteries, toxic chemicals in household detergents, solvents and dyes. Therefore, garbage dumps near the largest cities pose a serious environmental threat - the threat of groundwater pollution, a threat to public health. Disposing of industrial waste to these landfills will create even greater dangers.

Waste recycling plants are not a radical solution to the waste problem - sulfur and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide are released into the atmosphere, and the ash contains toxic substances; the ash ultimately ends up in these same landfills.

Such an ordinary substance as water does not often attract our attention, although we encounter it every day, rather even hourly: during the morning toilet, at breakfast, when we drink tea or coffee, when leaving the house in the rain or snow, while preparing lunch and washing dishes, during laundry... In general, very, very often. Think for a minute about water..., imagine that it suddenly disappeared..., well, for example, there was a water supply network failure. Or perhaps this has already happened to you? In such a situation, it becomes very clear that “there is no water, neither here nor there.”

2.9. Energy problem

As we have already seen, it is closely related to the environmental problem. Environmental well-being greatly depends on the reasonable development of the Earth’s energy sector, since half of all gases that cause the “greenhouse effect” are created in the energy sector.

The fuel and energy balance of the planet consists mainly of

"pollutants" - oil (40.3%), coal (31.2%), gas (23.7%). In total, they account for the overwhelming majority of energy resource use – 95.2%. “Pure” types – hydropower and nuclear energy – account for less than 5% in total, and the “softest” (non-polluting) types – wind, solar, geothermal – account for fractions of a percent.

It is clear that the global task is to increase the share of “clean” and especially “soft” types of energy.

In the coming years, “soft” types of energy will not be able to significantly change the fuel and energy balance of the Earth. It will take some time until their economic indicators become close to “traditional” types of energy.

In addition to the gigantic area that is necessary for the development of solar and wind energy, one must also take into account the fact that their environmental “purity” is taken without taking into account the metal, glass and other materials necessary to create such “clean” installations, and even in huge quantities.

Hydropower is also conditionally “clean” – there is a large loss of flooded area in river floodplains, which are usually valuable agricultural lands. Hydroelectric power plants now provide 17% of all electricity in developed countries and 31% in developing countries, where the world's largest hydroelectric power stations have been built in recent years.

Apparently, in these conditions, only nuclear energy can be a way out, capable of dramatically and in a fairly short time weakening the “greenhouse effect.”

Replacing coal, oil and gas with nuclear power has already produced some reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions.

2.10. Raw material problem

Issues of providing raw materials and energy are the most important and multifaceted global problem. The most important because, even in the age of scientific and technological revolution, minerals remain the fundamental basis for almost the rest of the economy, and fuel is its circulatory system. Multifaceted because here a whole knot of “sub-problems” is woven together:

Availability of resources on a global and regional scale;

Economic aspects of the problem (increasing production costs, fluctuations in world prices for raw materials and fuel, dependence on imports);

Geopolitical aspects of the problem (struggle for sources of raw materials and fuel;

Environmental aspects of the problem (damage from the mining industry itself, energy supply issues, recovery of raw materials, choice of energy strategies, and so on).

The scale of resource use has increased dramatically in recent decades.

Only since 1950, the volume of mineral extraction has increased 3 times; all minerals mined in the 20th century were mined after 1960.

One of the key issues of any global models has become the provision of resources and energy. And many of the things that until recently were considered endless, inexhaustible and “free” - territory, water, oxygen - have become resources.

Problems of the world's oceans

The world ocean, covering 2/3 of the earth's surface, is a huge water reservoir, the mass of water in which is 1.4 (1021 kilograms or 1.4 billion cubic kilometers. Ocean water is 97% of all water on the planet. Being the largest supplier of food products, the World Ocean provides, according to various estimates, 1/6 of all animal proteins consumed by the planet's population as food. The ocean and, especially, its coastal zone play a leading role in supporting life on Earth.

After all, about 70% of the oxygen entering the planet’s atmosphere is produced during photosynthesis by plankton (phytoplankton). Blue-green algae that live in the world's oceans serve as a giant filter that purifies water as it circulates. It receives polluted river and rainwater and, through evaporation, returns moisture to the continent in the form of clean precipitation.

The oceans are one of the most important objects of environmental protection. The peculiarity of this object of environmental protection is that currents in the seas and oceans quickly carry pollutants over long distances from the places of their release. Therefore, the problem of protecting the cleanliness of the ocean is of a clearly international nature.

Intensive human activity has led to the fact that the Baltic,

The North and Irish Seas are heavily polluted by detergent runoff. Water

Baltic and North Seas also pose another danger.

Successful recovery water resources with their simultaneous involvement in economic circulation, that is, the reproduction of water resources, the prevention of possible new pollution is possible only by carrying out a set of measures, including cleaning waste water and reservoirs, the introduction of recycled water supply and low-waste technologies.

Waste-free technology is developing in several directions:

1. Creation of drainless technological systems and water circulation cycles based on existing introduced and promising methods of wastewater treatment.

2. Development and implementation of systems for recycling production and consumption waste as a secondary material resource, which prevents their entry into the aquatic environment.

3. Creation and implementation of fundamentally new processes for obtaining traditional types of products, which make it possible to eliminate or reduce technological stages that produce the bulk of liquid waste pollutants.

The most common substances that pollute water bodies are oil and its derivatives.

Shipping is the oldest branch of transport, connecting continents and cultures in the very distant past. But only in the second half of our century did it take on modern grandiose proportions. Tanker disasters pose a great danger to the open ocean, and nuclear submarines pose an even greater danger.

The impact of military conflicts on the World Ocean is especially dangerous. "War in

Gulf" led to the fact that almost 2/3 of the western coast of the Persian Gulf was covered with a layer of oil and a huge number of marine animals and birds died.

More obscure problems may arise from a warming climate

Earth. There is another type of contamination - radioactive contamination from the disposal of radioactive waste. Pollution of seas and oceans with radioactive waste is one of the most important problems of our time.

In recent years, a number of important international agreements have been adopted to protect the seas and oceans from pollution. In accordance with these agreements, tanker washing and waste ship water discharge must be carried out in special port facilities.

Problems of space exploration

Before the first space flights the entire near-Earth space, and even more so the “distant” space, the universe, was considered something unknown. And only later did they begin to recognize that between the Universe and the Earth - this smallest particle of it - there is an inextricable relationship and unity.

The close interaction of the Earth's biosphere with the cosmic environment gives grounds to assert that the processes occurring in the Universe have an impact on our planet.

It should be noted that already at the birth of the foundations of theoretical cosmonautics, environmental aspects played an important role, and, above all, in the works of K.E. Tsiolkovsky. In his opinion, the very entry of man into space represents the development of a completely new ecological “niche”, different from the earthly one.

Near space (or near-Earth space) is the gaseous envelope of the Earth, which is located above the surface atmosphere, and whose behavior is determined by the direct influence of solar ultraviolet radiation, while the state of the atmosphere is influenced mainly by the Earth's surface.

Until recently, scientists believed that near space exploration had almost no effect on the weather, climate and other living conditions on Earth. The appearance of ozone holes has given scientists pause. But the problem of preserving the ozone layer is only a small part of the much more general problem of protecting and rationally using near-Earth space, and above all that part of it that is formed by the upper atmosphere and for which ozone is only one of its components. In terms of the relative force of impact on the upper atmosphere, the launch of a space rocket is similar to the explosion of an atomic bomb in the surface atmosphere.

Space is a new environment for humans, not yet inhabited. But here, too, the eternal problem of contamination of the environment, this time in space, arose.

There is also the problem of contamination of near-Earth space with spacecraft debris. Space debris appears during the operation of orbital spacecraft and their subsequent deliberate destruction. It also includes spent spacecraft, accelerating blocks, detachable structural elements such as pyrobolt adapters, covers, last stages of launch vehicles, and the like.

According to modern data, there are 3000 tons of space debris in near space, which is about 1% of the mass of the entire upper atmosphere above 200 kilometers. Growing space debris poses a serious threat to space stations and human missions. Space debris is dangerous not only for astronauts and space technology, but also for earthlings. Experts have calculated that out of 150 spacecraft debris that reaches the surface of the planet, one is likely to seriously injure or even kill a person.

Outer space is not under the jurisdiction of any state. This is in its purest form an international object of protection. Thus, one of the important problems arising in the process of industrial space exploration is the determination of specific factors of the permissible limits of anthropogenic impact on the environment and near-Earth space.

It must be admitted that today there is a negative impact of space technology on the environment (destruction of the ozone layer, contamination of the atmosphere with oxides of metals, carbon, nitrogen, and near space

– parts of spent space aircraft). Therefore, it is very important to study the consequences of its influence from an environmental point of view.

2.13 The problem of AIDS and drug addiction.

Fifteen years ago, it was hardly possible to foresee that the media would pay so much attention to the disease, which received the short name AIDS - “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.” Now the geography of the disease is striking. The World Health Organization estimates that at least 100,000 cases of AIDS have been detected worldwide since the outbreak began. The disease has been detected in 124 countries. The largest number of them are in the USA. No less evil is the international mafia and especially drug addiction, which poisons the health of tens of millions of people and creates a breeding ground for crime and disease. Already today, even in developed countries, there are countless diseases, including mental ones. In theory, hemp fields should be protected by workers of the state farm - the owner of the plantation.

2.14 The problem of thermonuclear war.

No matter how serious the dangers for humanity are that accompany all other global problems, they are not even in the aggregate comparable to the catastrophic demographic, environmental and other consequences of a global thermonuclear war, which threatens the very existence of civilization and life on our planet. Back in the late 70s, scientists believed that a global thermonuclear war would be accompanied by the death of many hundreds of millions of people and the resolution of world civilization. Studies on the likely consequences of thermonuclear war have revealed that even 5% of the currently accumulated nuclear arsenal of the great powers will be enough to plunge our planet into an irreversible environmental catastrophe: the soot rising into the atmosphere from incinerated cities and forest fires will create a screen impenetrable to sunlight and will lead to a drop in temperature by tens of degrees, so that even in the tropical zone there will be a long polar night. The priority of preventing a global thermonuclear war is determined not only by its consequences, but also by the fact that a non-violent world without nuclear weapons creates the need for prerequisites and guarantees for the scientific and practical solution of all other global problems in the conditions international cooperation.

3. Interrelation of global problems.

All global problems of our time are closely related to each other and mutually conditioned, so that an isolated solution to them is practically impossible. Thus, ensuring the further economic development of mankind with natural resources obviously presupposes the prevention of increasing environmental pollution, otherwise this will lead to an environmental disaster on a planetary scale in the foreseeable future. This environmental problem can only be solved by a new type of path environmental development, fruitfully using the potential of the scientific and technological revolution, while simultaneously preventing its negative consequences. The inability of humanity to develop at least one of the global problems will most negatively affect the ability to solve all the others. In the view of some Western scientists, the interconnection and interdependence of global problems form a kind of “vicious circle” of disasters insoluble for humanity, from which there is either no way out at all, or the only salvation is the immediate cessation of environmental growth and population growth. This approach to global problems is accompanied by various alarmist, pessimistic forecasts for the future of humanity.

4. Ways and possibilities for solving global problems.

The aggravation of global contradictions puts on the agenda the common problem of human survival. Different specialists have different meanings for the concept of survival.

For optimal solution global problems of the current stage of social development, two groups of prerequisites are needed: scientific-technical and socio-political. The content of the first is to ensure scientific and technological progress to the extent necessary to regulate natural processes; secondly, in creating such socio-political conditions that will make it possible to practically solve global problems. The most complete solution to global problems obviously requires a radical transformation of social relations on the scale of the world community. This means that for the nearest foreseeable period, the only way to solve global problems is the deployment of mutually beneficial, broad international cooperation.

It is necessary to rethink the entire system of value orientations and change life attitudes, shifting the emphasis from the means of life with which people have been occupied for so long, to the goals of life. Perhaps these great trials will lead not only to a transformation of existence, but also to a spiritual transformation.

The aggravation of global problems has created fundamentally new conditions for the development of humanity, conditions of a constant, real threat to life on Earth.

In objective reality, we are dealing not with a totality, but with a system of global problems. Its characteristic feature is that it is extremely complex and multifactorial. And this is manifested, first of all, in the fact that the essential basis of the system of global contradictions are social relationships determined by the fundamental laws of social development. There are no purely social or purely socio-natural global problems. All of them express one or another aspect of a single process of socio-natural development. A characteristic feature of the global problems of our time is that they, having arisen for social reasons, lead to consequences that are more than social, affecting the biological and physical foundations of human existence.

The central link in the strategy for solving global problems is the development of comprehensive international cooperation, the unification of the diverse efforts of all mankind. So, the world community has an objective opportunity to save itself and life on the planet. The problem is: will it be able to take advantage of this opportunity?

Ways to solve environmental problems

The main thing, however, is not the completeness of the list of these problems, but in understanding the reasons for their occurrence, their nature and, most importantly, in identifying effective ways and means of resolving them.

The true prospect of overcoming the environmental crisis lies in changing human production activities, his lifestyle, and his consciousness.

Scientific and technological progress not only creates “overloads” for nature; In the most advanced technologies, it provides a means of preventing negative impacts and creates opportunities for environmentally friendly production. Not only an urgent need has arisen, but also an opportunity to change the essence of technological civilization and give it an environmental character.

One of the directions of such development is the creation of safe production facilities.

Using the achievements of science, technological progress can be organized in such a way that production waste does not pollute the environment, but returns to the production cycle as secondary raw materials. An example is provided by nature itself: carbon dioxide released by animals is absorbed by plants, which release oxygen necessary for animal respiration.

Waste-free production is a production in which all raw materials are ultimately transformed into one or another product. Considering that

Modern industry converts 98% of raw materials into waste, then the need for the task of creating waste-free production will become clear.

Calculations show that 80% of waste from the thermal power, mining, and coke-chemical industries is suitable for use. At the same time, the products obtained from them often surpass in quality products made from primary raw materials. For example, ash from thermal power plants, used as an additive in the production of aerated concrete, approximately doubles the strength of building panels and blocks. Great value has the development of environmental restoration industries (forestry, water, fisheries), the development and implementation of material-saving and energy-saving technologies.

F. Joliot-Curie also warned: “We cannot allow people to direct to their own destruction those forces of nature that they were able to discover and conquer.”

Time doesn't wait. Our task is to stimulate, using all available methods, every initiative and entrepreneurship aimed at creating and implementing the latest technologies that help solve any environmental problems.

Promote the creation of a large number of control bodies consisting of highly qualified specialists, based on clearly developed legislation in accordance with international agreements on environmental issues. Constantly convey information to all states and peoples on ecology through radio, television and the press, thereby raising the environmental consciousness of people and promoting their spiritual and moral revival in accordance with the requirements of the era.

Humanism

Humanism (from Lat. humanitas - humanity, Lat. humanus - humane, Lat. homo - man) is a worldview centered on the idea of ​​man as the highest value; arose as a philosophical movement during the Renaissance

According to the definition of the ancient Roman politician and philosopher Cicero, humanism is the highest cultural and moral development of human abilities into an aesthetically complete form, combined with gentleness and humanity.

Humanism today

Yuri Cherny in his work “Modern Humanism” offers the following periodization of the development of the modern humanistic movement:

Origin (mid-19th century - early 1930s);

The formation and development of the organized humanistic movement (early 1930s - early 1980s);

The identification of secular (secular) humanism as an independent ideological movement, its final demarcation from religious humanism (early 1980s - present).

Modern humanism represents diverse ideological movements, the process of organizational formation of which began in the period between the two world wars and continues intensively today. The concept of “humanism” as a definition own views used in life by agnostics, freethinkers, rationalists, atheists, and members of ethical societies (who seek to separate moral ideals from religious doctrines, metaphysical systems and ethical theories in order to give them independent force in personal life and public relations).

Organizations of supporters of humanistic movements, existing in many countries of the world, are united in the International Humanistic and Ethical Union (IHEU). Their activities are based on program documents - declarations, charters and manifestos, the most famous of which are:

Humanist Manifesto I (1933),

Humanist Manifesto II (1973),

Declaration of Secular Humanism (1980),

Humanist Manifesto 2000 (1999),

Amsterdam Declaration 2002,

Humanism and Its Aspirations (2003),

Other international and regional humanist organizations (World Union of Freethinkers, International Academy of Humanism, American Humanist Association, Dutch Humanist League, Russian Humanist Society, Indian Radical Humanist Association, International Coalition) also play a significant role in the development of humanistic views, the promotion of humanistic values ​​and the coordination of the efforts of humanists “For Humanism!”, etc.)

At first glance, the phrase “humanism and ecology” looks quite natural and consonant. However, upon a more rigorous examination of these concepts, almost nothing in common can be found between them. And yet, the main direction of modern human development is most accurately expressed by the unification of the ideas of ecology and humanism.

Ecology arose in the middle of the 19th century in the depths of biological science, which by that time had become interested not only in the classification of all living things and the structure of organisms, but also in the reaction of animals and plants to the conditions of existence. Gradually, ecology took shape into an independent biological discipline with several main sections examining the peculiarities of the existence of organisms, populations and communities. In none of them is there even a hint of the priority of humane relations between species, much less of ensuring the beneficial existence of only one of the many species, namely Homo sapience.

Humanism as a cultural trend arose in the 14th century in Italy and spread to Western Europe from the 15th century. At first, humanism manifested itself in the form of a defense of secular values ​​against oppression by the ascetic medieval church. Some Italian universities have returned to the half-forgotten and rejected ancient cultural and scientific heritage of the Middle Ages. The humanism of that time was initially prone to politicization and reorganization of society, which manifested itself over time in revolutions.

The Renaissance, which replaced the Middle Ages, “built on” Christian ethics and contributed to the further development of humanism. Without initially denying the foundations of Christian morality, the reformers introduced, in the form of studying ancient works, recognition of the intrinsic value of the human person and earthly life.

Humanism as a phenomenon turned out to be a historically changing system of views. Originating in art, it opened the way to science, the scientific and technological revolution, and contributed to an economic boom, enlightenment, social transformations and revolutions. Its consequences include both modern fantastic achievements of science, which have completely transformed our way of life, and numerous troubles caused by the excessive arrogance of people seeking to reshape the world according to their own understanding. In this sense, humanism has given rise to an anti-ecological worldview of consumerism and the priority of human interests on Earth, thereby contributing to the approach of an environmental crisis.

Ecology has also undergone a striking metamorphosis. From a private biological discipline, in just the last half century, it has turned into a colossal interdisciplinary field of science in its scope - megascience, studying the impact on living things not only of natural environmental factors that have always existed in nature, but also of numerous processes generated by human activity. Applied ecology began to study ways to prevent undesirable consequences of anthropogenic impact on nature and on the health of people themselves.

Ecology has opened the world's eyes to processes of global significance, and at the same time, it is with these processes that the most unpleasant expectations, and perhaps the troubles of humanity, are associated.

Any species of living beings can theoretically multiply without limit. IN real life This does not happen, and surges in the numbers of individual populations are quite rare. This is explained by the fact that the number of any species is limited by the limited resources necessary for its life, and above all food. Every ecology textbook provides examples of such “waves of life.” However, gradually people became less and less dependent on natural limitations. They learned to grow their own food, store it, buy it in other countries and transport it to places of deprivation. Humanity has learned to look for new resources, i.e. take more and more from nature. There has never been anything like this before in the history of the biosphere. While remaining one of the species of living beings, humanity has escaped the control of natural regulations.

It is no longer possible to rely on the omnipotence of nature. Natural mechanisms are insufficient to preserve the biosphere and prevent its destruction from the inside. Natural regulations are blind - they are “oscillations of a pendulum” with going off scale at the edges: a cataclysm is often necessary to switch processes. Anthropogenic regulation is the anticipation of cataclysms, it is a timely reduction in the speed of the process, it is a choice between immediate benefits and long-term sustainability. Hence the priority of “sustainable development”. Modern strategies should be based on a choice between short-term and long-term benefits in environmental management.

Now people are obliged to live by different rules - not natural ones at all. This is the essence of the “ecological imperative” - a concept that has recently become widely known thanks to the works of Nikita Nikolaevich Moiseev. A new worldview of humanity must be formulated taking into account the fact that one living species assumes full responsibility for observing the “safety rules on the planet”, for maintaining a stable balance of energy and material flows.

Such laws did not exist in nature, although the rudiments of them appeared long ago in the history of mankind and were reflected in the evolution of the humanistic worldview, either in the form of religious teachings, then in the form of social utopias and theories, or in various manifestations of secular culture. However, there can be no doubt about the fact that humanity has already begun to live according to laws different from natural ones, and its participation in the regulation of natural processes has no analogues in the entire history of the Earth.

In the famous first report of the Club of Rome, “The Limits to Growth,” it was proven that the development of humanity according to existing rules must inevitably lead soon to global collapse. Cosmopolitanism and concerns about the fate of all humanity have ceased to be the lot of individual moralists and thinkers.

Christian humanism turned out to be dual: while preaching love for one's neighbor, the church at the same time propagated asceticism, the extreme forms of which were inhuman. In addition, there was no place for nature in Christian teaching. Humanity harmed nature even outside of Christianity, but Christianity not only did not resist this, but actually blessed such a policy of people. While fighting against paganism, with the veneration and deification of natural forces, the great religion simultaneously destroyed the centuries-old traditions of the unity of man with nature. Christianity sought to separate man from nature, to contrast the spiritualized creature with other creatures, and especially with inanimate nature. Man was torn out of the biological world by religion, and nature was given over to him for consumption. This is the reason for the fact that environmental movements began and grew outside the church.

The practical implementation of the ideas of humanism was the spread of accessible and universal secular education throughout the world, the recognition of equal rights of women with men, the emergence of a social security (support) system for the population, including, in particular, the regulation of working hours, vacations, and benefits. In many countries, for humane reasons, they have abandoned the use of the death penalty as capital punishment.

The modern ecological worldview represents the next step in the development of humanistic ethics. Now we are talking not only about mutual respect between contemporaries, but also about concern for the well-being of future generations, about the preservation of the biosphere - the “common home” in which we all live together with many other species of living beings inhabiting it.

The United Nations has put a lot of effort into finding ways to prevent global environmental catastrophe since the mid-1960s. First in Stockholm in 1972, and then in Rio de Janeiro 20 years later, recommendations were made in the most general form to overcome the environmental crisis, which did not fit into the stereotypes of either the capitalist or socialist systems. Gradually and independently of government efforts, the concerned public of different countries formulated new, still scattered rules for a different, third way of development, which is associated with the concept of sustainable development of humanity. Now, at the turn of the millennium, the world is beginning to recognize itself as a single community, doomed first of all to take care of the safety of its “spaceship”, from which it has nowhere to escape.

The role of gradually transforming humanism turns out to be leading in solving global environmental problems: if ecology as a science has gone far beyond the boundaries of its originally occupied field of knowledge and now we are talking about “environmental protection”, or more precisely about eco-culture, then humanism has undergone an impressive evolution. The time has come to admit that the world is learning to live according to new rules that correspond to the logical continuation of the evolution of humanism - its noospheric phase of development. Scattered principles, representing a treasury of humanity, which were found and successfully tested by different peoples, thinkers, and religions, can be united into a single humanistic “code of life.” It mutually complements each other: the Christian “thou shalt not kill”, the humanists’ desire for education, philanthropy and creativity, the affirmation of the principles of equality and freedom, citizenship and spirituality, current globalism and concern for the future of the entire planet.

Conclusion

The global problems of our time are of a universal nature in the broadest sense of the word, because they affect the interests of all mankind, influence the future of human civilization, and most immediately, without any temporary delays.

The universal are those prerequisite factors, those values ​​that really contribute to the survival, preservation and development of humanity, the creation of favorable conditions for its existence, for the disclosure of its potential.

At the present stage of development, humanity is faced with perhaps the most pressing problem - how to preserve nature, since no one knows when and in what form an environmental catastrophe can occur. And humanity has not yet even come close to creating a global mechanism for regulating the use of natural resources, but continues to destroy the colossal gifts of nature. There is no doubt that the inventive human mind will eventually find a replacement for them. Man cannot exist without nature, not only physically (bodily), which goes without saying, but also spiritually. The meaning of modern environmental ethics is to place the highest values ​​over the value of nature-transforming activities. moral values person. At the same time, the principle of value equality of all living things (equivalence) appears as the basis of environmental ethics.

If humanity continues to follow the current path of development, then its death, according to the world's leading ecologists, is inevitable in two to three generations.

Global problems(French g1оba1 - universal, from Lat. g1оbus (terrae) - globe) represent a set of problems of humanity, on the solution of which social progress and the preservation of civilization depend: preventing a world thermonuclear war and ensuring peaceful conditions for the development of all peoples; prevention of catastrophic pollution of the environment, including the atmosphere, the world ocean, etc.; bridging the growing gap in economic levels and per capita income between developed and developing countries by eliminating the backwardness of the latter, as well as eliminating hunger, poverty and illiteracy across the globe; ensuring the further economic development of mankind with the necessary natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, including food, industrial raw materials and energy sources; stopping rapid population growth (“population explosion” in developing countries) and eliminating the danger of “depopulation” in developed countries; preventing the negative consequences of the scientific and technological revolution. The twenty-first century, having just begun, has already added its own problems: international terrorism, the continuing spread of drug addiction and AIDS.

The criteria for identifying global problems are the following:

• their widespread distribution affects humanity as a whole;
• failure to resolve these problems can lead to the death of all humanity;
• they can only be resolved through the joint efforts of humanity, i.e. they cannot be fully resolved within a single state or region.

These problems, which previously existed as local and regional, have acquired a planetary character in the modern era. Thus, the time of emergence of global problems coincides with the achievement of industrial civilization at its apogee in its development. This happened approximately in the middle of the 20th century.
However, there is a difference between problems that are truly global and universal. Failure to solve global problems leads humanity to inevitable destruction, and universal problems are those that are widespread and can develop into global ones. General problems include health care, education, social protection, etc. For example, the most people dying in the world today are not from terrorists or from AIDS or drug addiction, but from cardiovascular diseases.

Summarizing what is known about the global problems of our time, they can be reduced to three main ones:

1. the possibility of the destruction of humanity in a global thermonuclear war;
2. the possibility of a worldwide environmental disaster;
3. spiritual and moral crisis of humanity.

The interesting thing is that when solving the third problem, the first two are solved almost automatically. After all, a spiritually and morally developed person will never accept violence either towards another person or towards nature. Even a simply cultured person does not offend others and will never throw garbage on the sidewalk. From little things, from the wrong individual behavior of a person, global problems grow. It is better to say that global problems are rooted in human consciousness, and until he transforms it, they will not disappear in the outside world. Solving the third global problem, which is essentially the first, is the most difficult. This cannot be done mechanically, as could be done with the first two. Its solution is connected with the education and formation of a spiritual and moral personality.

Analysis of global problems

Possibility of destruction of humanity in the third world thermonuclear war is the most threatening problem. And although the Cold War is a thing of the past, nuclear arsenals have not been destroyed, and Russia’s efforts in the international arena in terms of disarmament do not find the proper response from politicians in the most developed countries with nuclear weapons, primarily from the US leadership.

It is known that for the period from 3500 BC, i.e. in fact, since the emergence of ancient civilizations, 14,530 wars have occurred, and only 292 years have people lived without them. If in the 19th century 16 million people died in wars, then in the 20th century. - more than 70 million! The total explosive power of weapons is now about 18 billion tons in TNT equivalent, i.e. Each inhabitant of the planet accounts for 3.6 tons. If at least 1% of these reserves explodes, then a “nuclear winter” will occur, as a result of which the entire biosphere, and not just humans, could be destroyed.

Measures to prevent war and hostilities were already developed by I. Kant at the end of the 18th century, but there is still no political will to approve them. Among the measures he proposed: non-financing of military operations; rejection of hostile relationships, respect; the conclusion of relevant international treaties and the creation of an international union seeking to implement a policy of peace, etc. However, it seems that in recent years the world community has been increasingly moving away from these steps.

Environmental problem could lead to a worldwide environmental disaster. The first significant environmental crisis, which threatened the continued existence of human society, arose in prehistoric times. Its causes were both climate change and the activities of primitive man, who, as a result of collective hunting, exterminated many large animals inhabiting the middle latitudes Northern Hemisphere(mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, steppe bison, cave bear, etc.). Sinanthropus, which lived about 400 thousand years ago, already caused noticeable damage to nature. They began to use fire, which led to fires that destroyed entire forests. However, although human impacts on nature sometimes acquired alarming proportions, until the 20th century. they were local in nature.

Before our eyes, the era of extensive use of the potential of the biosphere is ending: there are almost no undeveloped lands left (with the exception of the territory of Russia), the area of ​​deserts is systematically increasing, the area of ​​forests - the lungs of the planet - is decreasing, the climate is changing (global warming, the greenhouse effect), the amount of carbon dioxide is increasing and decreasing. - oxygen, the ozone layer is destroyed.

The environmental problem begins with individual human behavior. If he allows even small garbage to be thrown out on city streets or even in an open field, then environmental problems arise at the mass level. Such consciousness inevitably generates them. Pay attention to what the railway platforms in Russia have become, on which smokers throw cigarette butts, and absorbing sunflower seeds throw husks, and then much will become clear. It is not some bad people, politicians or directors of large factories who are capable of causing an environmental disaster. You and I arrange it with our own behavior. Chaos, garbage in the mind and moral underdevelopment give rise to garbage on the streets, rivers and seas are polluted, the ozone layer is destroyed and forests are barbarously cut down. Man has forgotten that the world around him is a continuation of his own body, and if he pollutes and destroys the environment, then first of all he harms himself. This is evidenced by the diseases that modern man has encountered.

Society is also defined as a part of the world separated from nature, but closely connected with it. Only by distinguishing oneself from others, from nature, can a person and society realize their specificity. N.A. expressed it deeply and vividly. Berdyaev: “Spirit is freedom, not nature.”

On the one hand, a person is a biological species, and society represents a special integrity of such biological individuals, on the other hand, a person is only a person insofar as he distinguishes himself from the surrounding natural, animal world. The difference between the human and the natural can be captured in terms such as “culture”, “sociality”, “spirituality”, “labor, intelligent activity”, etc.

Man is a fundamentally different being from nature, and at the same time the most deeply rooted in it. Nature needs man, she is not self-sufficient without him, and she did not produce him so that he would destroy himself. Man also needs nature; without it he turns into an automaton. Modern psychologists have established how beneficially pets have an effect on people, especially children, and a walk in the forest can relieve week-long fatigue and nervous tension.

Man and nature are indissoluble, because man exists as a Man only thanks to social relations that do not exist in nature, and also that society and nature are indissoluble, because man always remains a biological species, and society is always forced to use the environment and natural resources in its life activity. The problem lies only in a person’s humane attitude towards himself (his body) and towards nature as his bodily continuation,

Terrorism in modern times is also becoming a global problem. Especially when terrorists have lethal means or weapons capable of killing huge numbers of innocent people. Terrorism is a phenomenon, a form of crime, directed directly against a person, threatening his life and thereby striving to achieve its goals. Terrorism is absolutely unacceptable from a humanistic point of view, and from a legal point of view it is a grave crime.

Terrorism is extremely difficult to fight, because it puts the lives of innocent people, taken hostage or blackmailed, at risk. There is and cannot be any justification for such actions. Terror takes humanity into the era of pre-civilizational development - this is inhuman barbarism, when human life is not valued at all. He is a brutal spread of the principle of blood feud, incompatible with any developed religion, especially the world one. All developed religions and the entire culture unconditionally condemn terrorism, considering it absolutely unacceptable.

But after unconditionally condemning this phenomenon, it is necessary to think about its causes. The fight against the consequences is as ineffective as the treatment of an advanced disease. Only by understanding the causes of terrorism and eradicating or solving them can one truly defeat it. In this regard, we can formally distinguish two types of causes of terrorism: subjective and objective.

Subjective reasons coincide with the reasons for the emergence of crime in general - this is the desire to get rich. Only terrorism chooses the most inhumane and unacceptable method for this. Such terrorism must be fought by all legal means. Moreover, the punishment must be inevitable and severe.

But there is terrorism that has objective reasons, i.e. one that does not set the goal of personal enrichment, but pursues any political and other goals, to the greatest extent a supplier modern terrorism is separatism in the form of a struggle for national independence, but using unacceptable methods.

We have to admit that the growth of national self-awareness almost inevitably tends towards state registration. This problem can be avoided in a civilized manner only by creating favorable conditions for the development of a given nation within the framework of an existing, not national, but multinational state. It is necessary to make compromises and seek compromises, to strive to solve this problem, and not to suppress it.

But the possibility of such a solution to the problem of terrorism is aggravated by the fact that there is an international terrorist network that supplies terrorists with both weapons and money and provides information assistance. And instead of jointly fighting against international terrorism, developed countries used it as a bargaining chip in the fight against each other. The fruits of this policy turned against those countries that financed and created this network. Controlled terrorism suddenly became uncontrollable, and after tragic events in September 2001, the United States realized that terrorists have their own goals, and that terrorism must be fought together.

Another objective source of terrorism, along with national terrorism, is the unevenness of economic and social development in different regions and countries of the world. The continuing policy of neo-colonialism and exploitation in a hidden form is the main source of international terrorism today. The well-fed cannot understand the hungry, and the hungry cannot understand the well-fed; An illiterate and ignorant person always seeks to solve his problems through violence. And a well-fed, but spiritually and morally undeveloped person always strives to live even richer and better, not paying attention to the poverty and instability of others. Thus, the main source of terrorism is in the socio-economic problems of the modern world, in the unfair redistribution of wealth, in the hopeless ignorance and fanaticism of some and the satisfied complacency of others.

A person, driven to despair and not having any legal and legal forms of influence on a certain situation, turns to the simplest - violent option, believing that this way something can be achieved. This path is unacceptable, but the lack of sufficient spiritual and moral development leads to fanaticism and violence.

Both terrorism with subjective reasons and terrorism with objective reasons are equally unjustifiable. Due to the different reasons, there must be different and varied methods to combat this phenomenon. No violence against a person should go unpunished, but it is necessary to follow the path of eliminating the causes that lead to terrorism. The modern international economic order seems to be leading humanity to a dead end, and if it wants to survive, it must fight to change it. Politicians in the most developed countries bear a special responsibility here, but they are the ones who do not want to recognize the fact that the modern world is interdependent, that it is impossible to save ourselves alone. Their struggle for human rights is dual in nature and expresses certain geopolitical rather than universal human interests.

Demographic problem is becoming increasingly important for humanity. Demographic processes are studied by demography - the science of population, the laws of its reproduction and development in socio-historical conditions.

It is believed that demography dates back to 1662 - from the publication of J. Graunt's book "Natural and Political Observations Made on the Basis of Death Certificates".. The term "demography" was introduced in 1855 in the book by A. Guillard " An element of human statistics, or comparative demography."

The English economist and priest T. Malthus (1766-1834) in his work “An Essay on the Law of Population...” (1798) wanted to explain the contradictions of social development with the “natural law” he formulated, according to which the population tends to grow exponentially, and the means existence - in arithmetic. Because of this, “absolute overpopulation” is possible, which must be combated by regulating marriages and regulating the birth rate.

Let's consider the dynamics of the growth of the Earth's population: the early Paleolithic - 100-200 thousand people, by the end of the Neolithic (transition to agriculture) - 50 million, the beginning of our era - 230 million, by the beginning of the 19th century. - 1 billion, by 1930 - 2 billion, by 1961 - 3 billion, by the beginning of 1976 - 4 billion, by the beginning. 1980 - 4.4 billion, 1988 - over 4.9 billion. The growth rate of the Earth's population is constantly increasing, reaching 2% per year, which gave rise to talk about a “demographic explosion”. However, in the future, under the influence of socio-economic factors, population growth should stabilize. This is due to the development of “intrafamily planning”, the so-called “conscious parenthood”. In this regard, it is expected that at the end of the 21st century. the population will stabilize at 11-12 billion people. Thus, in the 20th century. The inconsistency of Malthus's calculations was revealed, because the volume of food produced increased much faster than the population grew. The mistake of Malthusianism lies in reducing the processes of demography to biological principles, while the development of population is carried out under the decisive influence not of nature, but of social organization and the level of culture of society. However, Malthus's fundamentally erroneous point of view is still being reproduced and spread. Meanwhile, it is erroneous not only from the point of view of science, but also unacceptable from the point of view of humanism.

The birth of a new person is happiness for parents; children largely contain the meaning of a person’s life, but in the conditions of a modern market economy, childbearing has become an “unprofitable” enterprise. In the modern era, everything is measured in material values, in money, which extends to the sphere of meaning. But a person who lives for himself and does not have children for reasons of “savings” commits a crime against his spiritual essence, against life in the final analysis. And no one from the outside should, has the right to limit the birth rate, cannot tell parents how many children they should limit themselves to. The birth of a child is the greatest thing a person can participate in the creation of. In a child there is endless joy and satisfaction, and if children are born, then God has not yet abandoned the person, as one of the great writers said. At the same time, it is important not only to give birth to children, but also to raise them, help them get on their feet, and find their place in society. A state that calls itself social should take care of this.

The development of the birth rate in Russia is especially important. It only seems at first glance that population growth leads to economic problems. In fact, it is he who solves them, because needs increase, people’s economic activity increases, which ultimately leads to economic growth. We can now observe such processes in countries characterized by high population density - in Germany, Japan and, especially, in China. Based on this, one can draw a conclusion that is directly opposite to Malthusianism. Population growth can not only create problems, but also solve them.

Meanwhile, the demographic problem exists and it is contradictory, it has the opposite character for different countries: in China there is overpopulation, in Russia there is depopulation. Together with social development, this problem should find its solution in a natural way - stabilization in this regard will occur. However, states now faced with a demographic problem are forced to take appropriate measures. It is important that they are not violent and do not violate the sovereignty of the individual and family life

Demographic processes at the turn of the 20th - 21st centuries. are largely determined by two trends:

1. demographic “explosion”, characterized by a sharp increase in population in the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, starting from the 60s;
2. “zero population growth” in Western European countries.

The first leads to a sharp exacerbation of socio-economic problems in developing countries, including hunger and illiteracy of tens of millions of people. The second is to a sharp aging of the population in developed countries, including a deterioration in the balance between workers and pensioners, etc.

In Russia, according to Goskomstat data as of January 2000, the population was 145 million 600 thousand inhabitants; Moreover, from January 1 to December 1, 1999 alone, the country’s population decreased by 716,900 people. In other words, in 1999 the population of Russia decreased by 0.5% (for comparison: in 1992 - by 0.02%). Every year 60 thousand children die in the country. Mortality is 1.5 times higher than birth rate; 80% of infant mortality is caused by infectious diseases. A terrible problem is child and adolescent substance abuse and drug addiction. There is a discrepancy between the number of divorced women of reproductive age and the number of men willing to remarry. According to experts, by 2020 the working population of Russia beyond the Urals will be 6-8 million people. For comparison, in the adjacent areas of the border countries of this region in the same year, the working-age population is projected to be 600 million people. By 2050, the population of Russia as a whole may amount to only 114 million inhabitants. The emergence of many conflicts in the post-Soviet space once again raises the problem of migration. In these conditions, the state and society must make every effort to interest the Russian population in childbearing.

food problem also sometimes considered global: today over 500 million people suffer from malnutrition, and several million die from malnutrition every year. However, the roots of this problem lie not in food shortages as such or in the limitations of modern natural resources, but in their unfair redistribution and exploitation both within individual countries and on a global scale. The fact that in the modern world people can be malnourished, and even more so die of hunger, is a completely immoral, criminal and unacceptable phenomenon. This is a disgrace to humanity and, above all, to the most developed countries. This is where the real field for protecting human rights lies when his fundamental right to life is violated. However, double standards prevail in international politics and economics, and so much money is spent on weapons that it would be possible to solve food, housing and educational problems on a planetary scale. Modern “developed” humanity spends colossal amounts of money on developing weapons of mass destruction instead of helping those in need get back on their feet and feed the hungry; instead of defeating ignorance and fanaticism through the development of the world education system, etc.

AIDS, drug addiction and bad habits more and more widespread in society. AIDS is called the plague of the 20th century, it can also be called the scourge of the 20th century. The disease, discovered in the United States in 1981, began to quickly spread throughout the planet. First of all, this was due to the sexual promiscuity of modern “civilized” man and drug addiction. By the beginning of 2001, there were 40 million AIDS patients in the world, and more than 16 million had already died. The AIDS epidemic is also spreading in Russia: according to unofficial data, about 500 thousand people are currently infected in the country. Moreover, it mainly covers people aged 15 to 30 years, which can aggravate the problem of depopulation.

Drug addiction is spreading even faster in Russia. The problem is related to the lack of state policy in this area in the 90s and underfunding of the fight against drug addiction. At that time, due to the criminal inaction of the state and society, the youth of Russia were left alone with their problems and were not ready to confront them.

AIDS and drug addiction in Russia can now be called a national disaster that has befallen its people. We can talk about genocide, because as a result of diseases and addictions, the nation is deprived of its most active and youthful part. Someday statistics will calculate what caused more people to die in Russia - from Stalinist repressions or from AIDS and drug addiction. And then the turn of the millennium in Russia will go down in history not only thanks to the attempt to implement reforms...

Along with such obvious diseases and vices as AIDS and drug addiction, there are more “harmless” ones that simply destroy a person more slowly, but, nevertheless, just as inevitably. The only similarity here is that the state did not fight either the first or the second. The second category includes drunkenness, which is deeply rooted in Russia, as well as smoking, foul language, etc.

Alcoholism has not only internal spiritual causes, when a person is experiencing an ideological crisis, is faced with insurmountable circumstances in life, trying to relieve stress by turning off consciousness, but also social ones. Under the conditions of the command-administrative system and a single forcibly implanted ideology, there was a suppression of any initiative and creativity in man, he could not self-realize. Realizing the futility and meaninglessness of existence, he indulged in drunkenness. In the 90s of the XX century, during the period of market, oligarchic bacchanalia, and today, in the conditions of the bureaucratization of the state apparatus and its corruption, people also had and have little opportunity to improve their living conditions. Thus, the social prerequisites for the prosperity of both alcoholism and drug addiction, along with crime, were preserved. A particularly difficult situation, as throughout the 20th century, has developed in the countryside, where widespread drunkenness exists. And in cities where there is more money and entertainment, drug addiction reigns. To combat these diseases and vices, the entire society and state, from schools to law enforcement agencies, must unite.

Tobacco smoking is now most widespread in Russia. It has quietly penetrated into all pores of society. Advertising on the streets Russian cities continues to seduce and seduce young people, while in civilized countries the state and education system are seriously fighting against this vice. It is necessary to develop special educational programs aimed at enlightening the younger generation. Every effort should also be made to make smoking the unattractive, disgusting thing it really is. It is necessary to help a person get rid of this extreme bad habit, develop anti-advertising of tobacco smoking, consumption of beer and alcoholic beverages. The government should raise taxes on tobacco products, directing the funds received to these measures. A person must realize that he is also spending money to destroy his own health.

One of the problems associated with spiritual underdevelopment is foul language. When a person utters obscene words, he destroys his own personality, his moral system. An ordinary person does not notice this, considers foul language a harmless phenomenon, but as soon as he takes the path of culture, and even more - spiritual development, he realizes all its harmfulness and inadmissibility. Foul language is dirt, and the one who utters it, it turns out, eats dirt. If a person respects himself and the people around him, then he will not allow foul language, because it humiliates human dignity, especially the dignity of the one who allows it. Ecology is needed not only of the environment, but also of language.

Economic problems of humanity

Economic problem– a global problem of humanity associated with the depletion of resources and the division of the world into poles of economic development, with the provision of food and scientific and technological revolutions (S&T).

Let's look at examples.

Economic problems	Examples
Depletion of animal resources	Michigan State University (USA) researchers studied how fuel demand affects the condition of the Wolong Nature Reserve, located in Sichuan Province (China). Wolong is one of the largest reserves whose mission is to protect the giant panda. Over the past thirty years, people have cut down a significant amount of forest, significantly reducing the panda's habitat. If the government does nothing to meet the fuel needs of villages, the situation may become critical.
Depletion of mineral resources	In 2008, the total amount of phosphate mined was 161 million tons. According to experts from the US Geological Survey, the need for fertilizers will increase annually by 2.5–3% in the next 5 years. If this rate of phosphate use continues, then all of the world's reserves could be used up in 125 years.
Depletion of water resources	According to the Water Institute, 1/3 of the current world population - about two billion people - are already experiencing water shortages. Currently, 1.1 billion people in the world live in a state of “water crisis”. At the same time, from 700 million to 900 million people live in a state of water stress - they regularly lack water, for example, during the dry season, which in many places lasts six months.
Food problem	1. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Somalia in 1991-1993. famine claimed the lives of 280 thousand Somalis. 2. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 24 thousand people die from hunger and diseases directly related to it every day in the world. And according to the data World Bank, the global food crisis will last until 2015.
Scientific and technological revolutions (STR)	In developed countries, scientific and technological revolution led to an increase in unemployment, which in turn led to a decrease in the birth rate. And in countries with a transitional type of reproduction, the decrease in mortality is not accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the birth rate. In developing countries, a specific age structure is being formed, where a large proportion is occupied by young people under 17 years of age (more than 2/5 of the population, while in Europe this figure is 1/3).

Global problems

Global problems of our time- this is a set of socio-natural problems, the solution of which determines the social progress of mankind and the preservation of civilization. These problems are characterized by dynamism, arise as an objective factor in the development of society and require the united efforts of all humanity to be solved. Global problems are interconnected, cover all aspects of people's lives and affect all countries of the world.

List of global problems

· Unresolved problem of reversing aging in humans and poor public awareness of neglected aging.

· the “North-South” problem - the development gap between rich and poor countries, poverty, hunger and illiteracy;

· preventing thermonuclear war and ensuring peace for all peoples, preventing the world community from unauthorized proliferation of nuclear technologies and radioactive pollution of the environment;

· prevention of catastrophic environmental pollution

· reduction of biodiversity;

· providing humanity with resources, depletion of oil, natural gas, coal, fresh water, wood, non-ferrous metals;

· global warming;

· ozone holes;

· the problem of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and AIDS.

· demographic development (population explosion in developing countries and demographic crisis in developed countries), possible famine.

· terrorism;

· asteroid danger;

· underestimation of global threats to the existence of humanity, such as the development of unfriendly artificial intelligence and global disasters.

Global problems are a consequence of the confrontation between nature and human culture, as well as the inconsistency or incompatibility of multidirectional trends in the development of human culture itself. Natural nature exists on the principle of negative feedback (see biotic regulation of the environment), while human culture exists on the principle of positive feedback.

Social problems

Social problems, social problems - issues and situations that directly or indirectly affect a person and, from the point of view of all or a significant number of community members, are quite serious problems that require collective efforts to overcome them.

The specific list of social problems differs in different times and in different societies, and the discourse of their perception and representation changes over time.

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GLOBAL PROBLEMS

GLOBAL PROBLEMS

(from Latin globus (terrae) - globe) - a set of vitally important problems that affect the whole and are insoluble within individual states and even geographical regions. G.p. came to the fore in the 20th century. as a result of significant population growth and a sharp intensification of the production process in industrial society. Attempts to solve G.p. are an indicator of the gradual formation of a single humanity and the formation of a truly world history. To the number of G.p. include: prevention of thermonuclear war; reducing rapid population growth (“population explosion” in developing countries); prevention of catastrophic pollution of the environment, primarily the atmosphere and the World Ocean; ensuring further economic development with the necessary natural resources, especially non-renewable ones; bridging the gap in living standards between developed and developing countries; elimination of hunger, poverty and illiteracy, etc. Circle G.p. is not sharply outlined, their peculiarity is that they cannot be solved in isolation, and humanity itself largely depends on their solution.
G.p. generated by the colossally increased impact of man on the environment, his economic activity transforming nature, which has become comparable in scale to geological and other planetary natural processes. According to pessimistic forecasts, G.p. cannot be resolved at all and in the near future will lead humanity to an environmental disaster (R. Heilbroner). Optimistic assumes that G.p. will turn out to be a natural consequence of scientific and technological progress (G. Kahn) or the result of the elimination of social antagonisms and the construction of a perfect society (Marxism-Leninism). The intermediate one consists in the demand for a slowdown or even zero growth of the economy and population of the world (D. Meadows and others).

Philosophy: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Gardariki. Edited by A.A. Ivina. 2004 .

GLOBAL PROBLEMS

[French global - universal, from lat. globe (terrae)- globe], a set of vitally important problems of humanity, on the solution of which further progress in modern era - preventing a world thermonuclear war and ensuring peaceful conditions for the development of all peoples; bridging the growing economic gap level and per capita income between developed and developing countries by eliminating their backwardness, as well as eliminating hunger, poverty and illiteracy on the globe; cessation strives. population growth (“demographic explosion” in developing countries) and eliminating the danger of “depopulation” in developed capitalist countries. countries; preventing catastrophic environmental pollution, including the atmosphere, oceans and T. d.; ensuring further economic development of humanity with necessary natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, including food, prom. raw materials and energy sources; prevention of direct and distant ones will be denied. consequences of scientific and technical revolution. Some researchers also include problems of health care, education, social values ​​and T. p.

These vital problems, although they existed before to one degree or another as local and regional contradictions, have become modern planetary era and unprecedented scale due to the specific historical situation that has developed on the globe. situation, namely a sharp exacerbation of uneven socio-economic. and scientific and technical progress, as well as the growing process of internationalization of all societies. activities. Contrary to opinion pl. scientists and societies. figures in the West, in particular representatives of the Club of Rome, G. p. were generated not so much by the colossally increased means of humankind’s influence on the world around us and the enormous scope (scale) his household activity, which has become comparable to geological. And etc. planetary natures. processes, and above all the spontaneity of societies. development and anarchy of production under capitalism, the legacy of colonialism and the ongoing exploitation of developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latvia. America is multinational. corporations, as well as etc. antagonistic contradictions, the pursuit of profit and current benefits to the detriment of the long-term, fundamental interests of society as a whole. The global nature of these problems does not stem from their “ubiquity,” and certainly not from their “predatory nature.” nature of man,” supposedly equally inherent in any social system, as they say bourgeois ideologists, but from the fact that they somehow affect humanity as a whole and cannot be completely resolved within the framework dept. states and even geographical. regions. They also cannot be successfully solved in isolation from one another.

Universal. the character of civil society does not at all give them a supra-class and non-ideological character. content is believed bourgeois scientists, considering them from the standpoint of abstract humanism and liberal reformist philanthropy. The global nature of these problems does not negate the class approach to their study and the fundamental differences in the methods and means of solving them in different social systems. Marxists reject the pessimism common in the West. and pseudo-optimistic. concepts of G. p., according to which they either cannot be resolved at all and will inevitably plunge humanity into catastrophe (. Heilbroner), or can be resolved only by price T. And. zero growth of the world economy and population (D. Meadows and etc.) , or to solve them, only one scientific and technical progress (G. Kahn). The Marxist approach to G. p. differs from the non-Marxist one also with regard to their hierarchy (priority in their decision): to the bourgeoisie, to ideologists who put forward either environmentalism first. problems, or “demographic. explosion" or the contrast between "poor and rich nations" (advanced North and backward South), Marxists believe the most insistent. the problem of preventing global thermonuclear war, ending the arms race and ensuring international security, believing that this will create not only favorable peaceful conditions for socio-economic. progress of all peoples, but will also free up enormous material resources for solving the remaining G. p. Consistent. resolution of emerging G. and. is possible only after the elimination of social antagonisms and the establishment of relations between society and nature on a global scale, i.e. in communist society. However, already in modern conditions pl. G. problems can be successfully resolved not only in socialist. society, but also the rest of the world in the course of general democracy. struggle for and detente, against selfishness. state-monopoly policy capital, through the deployment of mutually beneficial international cooperation, establishment of a new world economic. order in relations between developed and developing countries.

Mutual conditionality and the complex nature of G. p. suggest that they scientific research can be successfully carried out only through the cooperation of scientists of different specialties, representatives of society, natural sciences. and technical sciences, based on dialectic. method and use of such methods scientific knowledge of social reality, as well as global.

Materials of the XXVI Congress CPSU, M., 1981; Brezhnev L.I., Great October and the progress of mankind, M., 1977; Commoner B., Closing Circle, lane With English, L., 1974; Biola G., Marxism and the Environment, lane O French, M., 1975; Budyko M.I., Global Ecology, M., 1977; Shiman M., Towards the third millennium, lane With Hung., M., 1977; G v i sh i a n i D. M., Methodological. problems of modeling global development, "VF", 1978, "" 2; Arab-Ogly 9. A., Demographic and environmental forecasts, M., 1978; Forrester D. V., World, lane With English, M., 1978; Zagladin V., Frolov I., G. p. and the future of humanity, “Communist”, 1979, No. 7; theirs, G. p. of our time: scientific and social aspects, M., 1981; Frolov I. T., Human Perspectives, M., 1979; Sociological aspects of global modeling, M., 1979; The future of the global economy (Report of the UN group of experts headed by V. Leontyev), lane With English, M., 1979; Future. Real problems and bourgeois speculations, Sofia, 1979; ? e h e i A., Human. quality, lane With English, M., 1980; State of the Art of Modernity, M., 1981; Leibin V.M., “Models of the world” and “man”: Critical. ideas of the Club of Rome, M., 1981; F a l k R., The study of future worlds, N.Y., ; Kahn H., Brown W., Martel L., The next 200 years, L., 1977.

Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983 .

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