Three categories of global problems. 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 an 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 world population (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 global 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. are generated not so much by the colossally increased means of human influence on the world and on a huge scale (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 methods and ways of solving them in different social systems Oh. 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 release of tension, 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 Hungarian, 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 J. 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. modernity: scientific and social aspects, M., 1981; Frolov I. T., Human Perspectives, M., 1979; Sociological aspects of global modeling, M., 1979; The future of the world 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; G. p. 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 .

See what “GLOBAL PROBLEMS” are in other dictionaries:

Modernity 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 for... ... Wikipedia

GLOBAL PROBLEMS, modern problems of humanity as a whole, on the solution of which its development depends: prevention of world thermonuclear war; bridging the gap in the level of socio-economic development between developed and developing... ... Modern encyclopedia

Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Modern problems of the existence and development of mankind as a whole: preventing world thermonuclear war and ensuring peace for all peoples; bridging the gap in the level of socio-economic development between developed and developing... ... Political science. Dictionary.

A set of interconnected problems of a planetary nature that affect the vital interests of humanity and require the joint efforts of all states and peoples to be solved. System of modern gas stations includes two main groups... ... Dictionary of emergency situations

GLOBAL PROBLEMS- an area of philosophical research in which the prerequisites for solving global problems of our time are determined, the philosophical aspects of social, demographic, environmental forecasting, and the search for ways to restructure the world are analyzed... ... Modern Western philosophy. encyclopedic Dictionary

Global problems- problems of our time on the scale of the planet as a whole: the threat of war (due to the intensifying arms race); destruction of the human environment and depletion of natural resources (as the consequences of uncontrolled... ... Librarian's terminological dictionary on socio-economic topics

GLOBAL PROBLEMS- problems affecting existence modern humanity as a whole, all countries and peoples, regardless of their civilizational specifics and level of development. Their solution requires so many resources and concerted efforts that only... ... Philosophy of Science: Glossary of Basic Terms

Essay. Global problems of our time

In the modern world, people face a huge number of problems, the solution of which determines the fate of humanity. These are the so-called global problems of our time, that is, a set of socio-natural problems, the solution of which determines the social progress of mankind and the preservation of civilization. In my opinion, global problems that put all of humanity at risk are a consequence of the confrontation between nature and human activity. It was man, with all the diversity of his activities, that provoked the emergence of many global problems.

Today the following global problems are identified:

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

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

catastrophic environmental pollution;

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

global warming;

ozone holes;

terrorism;

violence and organized crime.

Greenhouse effect;

acid rain;

pollution of seas and oceans;

air pollution and many other problems.

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. In my opinion, one of the most dangerous problems is the possibility of the destruction of humanity in a third world thermonuclear war - a hypothetical military conflict between states or military-political blocs possessing nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. Measures to prevent war and hostilities were already developed by I. Kant at the end of the 18th century. The measures he proposed: non-financing of military operations; rejection of hostile relationships, respect; conclusion of the relevant international treaties and the creation of an international union seeking to implement a policy of peace, etc.

Another serious problem is terrorism. In modern conditions, terrorists have at their disposal a huge number of lethal means or weapons capable of destroying a huge number of innocent people.

Terrorism is a phenomenon, a form of crime, directed directly against a person, threatening his life and thereby seeking 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.

Environmental problems are another type of global problem. It includes: lithosphere pollution; hydrosphere pollution; atmospheric pollution.

Thus, today a real threat hangs over the world. Humanity must take measures as quickly as possible to resolve existing problems and prevent the emergence of new problems.

Trends in the development of human culture are contradictory; the level of social organization, political and environmental consciousness often does not correspond to the active transformative activity of man. The formation of a global human community, a single sociocultural space has led to the fact that local contradictions and conflicts have acquired a global scale.

The main causes and prerequisites for global problems:

acceleration of pace social development;
constantly increasing anthropogenic impact on the biosphere;
population increase;
strengthening the interconnection and interdependence between different countries and regions.

Researchers offer several options for classifying global problems.

The challenges facing humanity today modern stage development, relate to both the technical and moral spheres.

The most pressing global problems can be divided into three groups:

problems of a natural and economic nature;
social problems;
problems of a political and socio-economic nature.

1. Environmental problem. Intensive human economic activity and consumer attitudes towards nature have a negative impact on the environment: soil, water, and air are polluted; The planet's flora and fauna are becoming impoverished, and its forest cover has been largely destroyed. These processes together pose a threat to humanity of a global environmental catastrophe.

2. Energy problem. In recent decades, energy-intensive industries have been actively developing in the world economy, and in connection with this, the problem of non-renewable reserves of organic fuel (coal, oil, gas) is becoming more acute. Traditional energy increases human pressure on the biosphere.

3. Raw materials problem. Natural mineral resources, which are the source of raw materials for industry, are exhaustible and non-renewable. Mineral reserves are rapidly declining.

4. Problems of using the World Ocean. Humanity is faced with the task of rational and careful use of the World Ocean as a source of biological resources, minerals, fresh water, as well as the use of waters as natural routes of communication.

5. Space exploration. Space exploration contains great potential opportunities for the scientific, technical and economic development of society, especially in the field of energy and geophysics.

Social problems

1. Demographic and food problems. The world's population is constantly increasing, which entails an increase in consumption. In this area, two trends clearly stand out: the first is the demographic explosion (sharp population growth) in the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America; the second is low birth rates and the associated aging of the population in Western European countries.
Population growth increases the need for food, industrial goods, and fuel, which leads to increased stress on the biosphere.
The development of the food sector of the economy and the efficiency of the food distribution system lag behind the rate of population growth on the planet, as a result of which the problem of hunger is worsening.

2. The problem of poverty and low living standards.

It is in poor countries with underdeveloped economies that the population is growing fastest, as a result of which the standard of living is extremely low. Poverty and illiteracy among large sections of the population and insufficient medical care are one of the main problems in developing countries.

Problems of a political and socio-economic nature

1. The problem of peace and disarmament. At the present stage of human development, it has become clear that war cannot be a way to solve international problems. Military actions not only lead to massive destruction and loss of life, but also give rise to retaliatory aggression. The threat of nuclear war made it necessary to limit nuclear tests and weapons to international level, however, this problem has not yet been completely resolved by the world community.

2. Overcoming the backwardness of underdeveloped countries. The problem of closing the gap in the level of economic development between Western countries and Third World countries cannot be solved by the efforts of lagging countries. The states of the “third world,” many of which remained colonially dependent until the mid-20th century, have embarked on the path of catching-up economic development, but they still cannot provide normal living conditions for the vast majority of the population and political stability in society.

3. The problem of interethnic relations. Along with the processes of cultural integration and unification, the desire of individual countries and peoples to assert national identity and sovereignty is increasing. Manifestations of these aspirations often take the form of aggressive nationalism and religious and cultural intolerance.

4. The problem of international crime and terrorism. The development of communications and transport, population mobility, transparency of interstate borders contributed not only to the mutual enrichment of cultures and economic growth, but also to the development of international crime, drug trafficking, illegal weapons business, etc. The problem of international terrorism became particularly acute at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Terrorism is the use or threat of force to intimidate and suppress political opponents. Terrorism is no longer a problem of one single state. The scale of the terrorist threat in the modern world requires joint efforts of different countries to overcome it.

Ways to overcome global problems have not yet been found, but it is obvious that to solve them it is necessary to subordinate human activity to the interests of human survival, preserving the natural environment and creating favorable living conditions for future generations.

The main ways to solve global problems:

1. Formation of humanistic consciousness, a sense of responsibility of all people for their actions;

2. A comprehensive study of the causes and prerequisites leading to the emergence and aggravation of conflicts and contradictions in human society and its interaction with nature, informing the population about global problems, monitoring global processes, their control and forecasting;

3. Development of the latest technologies and methods of interaction with the environment: waste-free production, resource-saving technologies, alternative energy sources (solar, wind, etc.);

4. Active international cooperation to ensure peaceful and sustainable development, exchange of experience in solving problems, creation of international centers for the exchange of information and coordination of joint efforts.

Commoner B. Closing circle. Nature, man, technology. L., 1974.
Pechchen A. Human qualities. M., 1980.
Global problems and universal values. M., 1990.
Sidorina T.Yu. Humanity between death and prosperity. M., 1997.

Global problems of the world - a breakthrough into the future world order

Global Studies, Global forecasting and modeling has been emerging and rapidly developing since the middle of this century. This is due to the awareness and study of global problems of the modern world.

The concept “global” comes from the Latin. globus is a globe and is used to record the most important planetary problems modern era facing humanity.

There have always been and will continue to be problems facing people, humanity.

Which of the totality of problems are called global?

When and why do they occur?

Global problems highlight by object , in terms of the breadth of reality, these are social contradictions that cover humanity as a whole , and every person. Global problems affect the fundamental conditions of existence; This is a stage in the development of contradictions that poses Hamlet’s question to humanity: “to be or not to be?” — touches on the problems of the meaning of life, the meaning of human existence.

Global problems and methods for solving them. They can only be resolved through the joint efforts of the world community and integrated methods. Here, private feasibility measures are no longer sufficient. To solve modern global problems it is necessary a new type of thinking, where the main ones are moral and humanistic criteria.

The emergence of global problems in the twentieth century is due to the fact that, as V.I. Vernadsky predicted, human activity acquired a planetary character. There has been a transition from the thousand-year spontaneous development of successive local civilizations to world civilization.

The founder and president of the Club of Rome (the Club of Rome is an international non-governmental organization uniting about 100 scientists, public figures, and businessmen, created in 1968 in Rome to discuss and study global problems, promoting the formation of public opinion regarding these problems) A. Peccei wrote: “The diagnosis of these difficulties is not yet known, and no effective drugs can be prescribed for them; at the same time, they are aggravated by the close interdependence that now connects everything in the human system... In our artificially created world, literally everything has reached unprecedented sizes and proportions: dynamics, speed, energy, complexity - and our problems too. They are now simultaneously psychological, social, economic, technical, and, in addition, political.”

In modern literature on global studies, several main blocks of problems are identified. The main problem is the problem of the survival of human civilization.

What is the main threat to humanity?

Production and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction, which can get out of control.

Increasing anthropogenic pressure on nature. Ecological problem.

Related to the first two are raw materials, energy and food problems.

Demographic problems (uncontrollable, fast growth population, uncontrolled urbanization, excessive concentration of population in large and major cities).

Overcoming comprehensive backwardness by developing countries.

Fighting dangerous diseases.

Problems of space exploration and the World Ocean.

The problem of overcoming the cultural crisis, the decline of spiritual, primarily moral values, the formation and development of a new social consciousness with the priority of universal human values.

Let us characterize the last of these problems in more detail.

The problem of the decline of spiritual culture has long been named among the main global problems, but right now, at the end of the twentieth century, it is increasingly identified by scientists and public figures as the key one, on which the solution of all the others depends. The most terrible of the catastrophes that threaten us is not so much the atomic, thermal and similar options for the physical destruction of humanity, but rather the anthropological one - the destruction of the human in man.

Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov in his article “The World Through Man” wrote: “Strong and contradictory feelings cover everyone who thinks about the future of the world in 50 years - about the future in which our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will live. These feelings are dejection and horror before the tangle of tragic dangers and difficulties of the immensely complex future of humanity, but at the same time hope for the strength of reason and humanity in the souls of billions of people, which alone can withstand the impending chaos.” Further, A.D. Sakharov warns that... “even if the main danger is eliminated—the destruction of civilization in the fire of a major thermonuclear war—the situation of humanity will remain critical.

Humanity is threatened by the decline of personal and state morality, which is already manifested in the deep collapse in many countries of the basic ideals of law and legality, in consumer selfishness, in the general growth of criminal tendencies, in international nationalist and political terrorism, in the destructive spread of alcoholism and drug addiction. The reasons for these phenomena are somewhat different in different countries. Yet it seems to me that the deepest, primary reason lies in the internal lack of spirituality, in which a person’s personal morality and responsibility are crowded out and suppressed by an authority that is abstract and inhuman in its essence, alienated from the individual.”

Aurelio Peccei, reflecting on various options for solving global problems, also calls the main one “Human Revolution” - that is, a change in man himself. “Man has subjugated the planet,” he writes, “and now must learn to manage it, to comprehend the difficult art of being a leader on Earth. If he finds the strength to fully and fully understand the complexity and instability of his current situation and accept a certain responsibility, if he can achieve a level of cultural maturity that will allow him to fulfill this difficult mission, then the future belongs to him. If he falls victim to his own internal crisis and fails to cope with the high role of defender and chief arbiter of life on the planet, well, then man is destined to witness how the number of such people will sharply decrease, and the standard of living will again slide to the level that has been passed for several centuries back. And only New Humanism is capable of ensuring the transformation of man, raising his quality and capabilities to a level corresponding to the new increased responsibility of man in this world.” According to Peccei, three aspects characterize the New Humanism: a sense of globality, love of justice and intolerance of violence.

From general characteristics global problems, let's move on to the methodology of their analysis and forecast. In modern futurology and global studies, attempts are being made to study global problems in a complex, interconnected manner. A classic example of global predictive models is still considered the “Limits to Growth” model, carried out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology project team led by Dr. D. Meadows. The group's findings were presented as its first report to the Club of Rome in 1972.

J. Forrester proposed (and the Meadows group implemented this proposal) to calculate from a complex set of global socio-economic processes several that are decisive for the fate of humanity, and then “play out” their interaction on a cybernetic model using a computer. The growth of the world population, as well as industrial production, food, a decrease in mineral resources and increased pollution of the natural environment were chosen as such.

Modeling showed that at the current growth rates of world population (over 2% per year, doubling in 33 years) and industrial production (in the 60s - 5-7% per year, doubling in about 10 years) during the first decades of the 21st century, mineral resources will be exhausted, production growth will cease, and environmental pollution will become irreversible.

To avoid such a catastrophe and create a global balance, the authors recommended sharply reducing the growth rate of population and industrial production, reducing them to the level of simple reproduction of people and machines according to the principle: new only to replace the old that retires (the concept of “zero growth”).

Let us reproduce some elements of the methodology and techniques of predictive modeling.

1) Construction of a basic model.

The main indicators of the base model in the case we are considering were:

Population. In D. Meadows' model, population growth trends are extrapolated into the coming decade. Based on this, a number of conclusions are formed: (1) there is no possibility of flattening the population growth curve before 2000; (2) most of the probable parents of 2000 have already been born; (3) we can expect that in 30 years the world population will be about 7 billion people. In other words, if we reduce mortality as successfully as before, and, as before, we try unsuccessfully to reduce fertility, then in 2030 the number of people in the world will increase 4 times compared to 1970.

Production. There was a conclusion that production growth outpaced population growth. This conclusion is inaccurate, because it is based on the hypothesis that the increasing industrial production of the world is evenly distributed among all earthlings. In fact, most of the world's growth in industrial output occurs in industrialized countries, where population growth rates are very low.

Calculations show that in the process of economic growth, the gap between the rich and poor countries of the world is tirelessly increasing.

Food. A third of the world's population (50-60% of the population in developing countries) suffers from malnutrition. And although overall agricultural production in the world is increasing, per capita food production in developing countries is barely maintained at its current, rather low level.

Mineral resources. The ability to increase food production ultimately depends on the availability of non-renewable resources.

At the current rate of consumption of natural resources and their further increase, according to D. Meadows, the vast majority of non-renewable resources will become extremely expensive in 100 years.

Nature. Will the biosphere survive? Man has only recently begun to show concern about his activities on the natural environment. Attempts to quantitatively measure this phenomenon arose even later and are still imperfect. Since environmental pollution is complexly dependent on population, industrialization and specific technological processes, it is difficult to give an accurate estimate of how quickly the exponential curve of overall pollution is rising. However, if in the year 2000 there were 7 billion people in the world, and the gross national product per capita was the same as the US today, then total environmental pollution would be at least 10 times higher than today's levels.

Whether natural systems will be able to withstand this remains to be seen. Most likely, the permissible limit will be reached on a global scale with exponential growth in population and the pollution produced by each person.

Model 1 “standard type”

Initial parcels. It is assumed that there will be no fundamental changes in the physical, economic or social relationships that historically determined the development of the world system (for the period from 1900 to 1970).

Food and industrial output, as well as population, will grow exponentially until rapid resource depletion causes industrial growth to slow. After this, the population will continue to increase for some time due to inertia, and at the same time, environmental pollution will continue. Eventually, population growth will be halved as a result of increased mortality rates due to lack of food and medical care.

Model 2

Initial parcels. It is assumed that “unlimited” sources of nuclear energy will double existing natural resources and implement an extensive program for the recycling and replacement of resources.

Forecasting the development of the world system. Since resources will not be depleted as quickly, industrialization can reach a higher level than with the standard type model. However, a large number of larger enterprises will pollute the environment very quickly, which will lead to an increase in the mortality rate and a decrease in the amount of food. At the end of the relevant period, resources will be severely depleted, despite the doubling of the initial reserves.

Model 3

Initial parcels. Natural resources are fully utilized and 75% of them are reused. The emission of pollutants is 4 times less than in 1970. The yield per unit of land area has doubled. Effective birth control measures are available to the entire world population.

Predicted development of the world system. It will be possible (albeit temporarily) to achieve a stable population with an average annual per capita income almost equal to the average income of the US population today. However, in the end, although industrial growth will be halved and the mortality rate will increase as a result of resource depletion, pollution will accumulate and food production will decline.

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….3

1. The concept of global problems of modern society…………………….5

2. Ways to solve global problems……………………….15

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….20

List of used literature………………………………………………………23

Introduction.

A sociology test is presented on the topic: “Global problems of modern society: the reasons for their occurrence and aggravation at the present stage of human development.”

The purpose of the test will be the following - to consider the causes of global problems of modern society and their aggravation.

Tasks test work :

1.Explain the concept of global problems of modern society, their causes.

2. Characterize ways to solve global problems at the present stage of human development.

It should be noted that sociology studies the social.

Social in our life is a set of certain properties and features of social relations, integrated by individuals or communities in the process of joint activity (interaction) in specific conditions and manifested in their relations to each other, to their position in society, to the phenomena and processes of social life .

Any system of social relations (economic, political, cultural and spiritual) concerns the relationship of people to each other and to society, and therefore has its own social aspect.

A social phenomenon or process occurs when the behavior of even one individual is influenced by another or a group (community) regardless of their physical presence.

Sociology is designed to study precisely this.

On the one hand, the social is a direct expression of social practice, on the other hand, it is subject to constant change due to the influence of this very social practice on it.

Sociology is faced with the task of cognition of the stable, essential and at the same time constantly changing in the social, analysis of the relationship between the constant and the variable in the specific state of a social object.

In reality, a specific situation acts as an unknown social fact that must be realized in the interests of practice.

A social fact is a single socially significant event, typical for a given sphere of social life.

Humanity has experienced the tragedy of two of the most destructive and bloody world wars.

New means of labor and Appliances; the development of education and culture, the affirmation of the priority of human rights, etc., provide opportunities for human improvement and a new quality of life.

But there are a number of problems to which we need to find an answer, a path, a solution, a way out of a disastrous situation.

That's why relevance test work is that now global problems - this is a multidimensional series of negative phenomena that you need to know and understand how to get out of them.

The test consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, and a list of references.

Authors such as V.E. Ermolaev, Yu.V. Irkhin, V.A. Maltsev helped us a lot when writing the test.

The concept of global problems of our time

It is believed that the global problems of our time are generated precisely by the pervasive unevenness of the development of world civilization, when the technical power of mankind has immeasurably surpassed the level of social organization it has achieved and political thinking has clearly lagged behind political reality.

Also, the motives of human activity and his moral values are very far from the social, environmental and demographic foundations of the era.

Global (from French Global) is universal, (Latin Globus) is a ball.

Based on this, the meaning of the word “global” can be defined as:

1) covering the entire globe, worldwide;

2) comprehensive, complete, universal.

The present time is the boundary of a change of eras, the entry of the modern world into a qualitative new phase development.

Therefore, the most characteristic features of the modern world will be:

information revolution;

acceleration of modernization processes;

compaction of space;

acceleration of historical and social time;

the end of the bipolar world (confrontation between the USA and Russia);

reconsidering the Eurocentric worldview;

growing influence of eastern states;

integration (convergence, interpenetration);

globalization (strengthening interconnection and interdependence of countries and peoples);

strengthening national cultural values and traditions.

So, global problems- this is a set of problems of humanity, on the solution of which the existence of civilization depends and, therefore, requiring coordinated international action to solve them.

Now let's try to find out what they have in common.

firstly, they affect all of humanity, touching the interests and destinies of all countries, peoples and social strata;

secondly, global problems do not respect borders;

thirdly, they lead to significant losses of an economic and social nature, and sometimes to a threat to the existence of civilization itself;

fourthly, they require broad international cooperation to solve these problems, since not one state, no matter how powerful it may be, is unable to solve them on its own.

The relevance of global problems of humanity is determined by a number of factors, the main of which include:
1. Sharp acceleration of social development processes.

This acceleration clearly revealed itself already in the first decades of the 20th century. It became even more obvious in the second half of the century. The reason for the accelerated development of socio-economic processes is scientific and technological progress.

In just a few decades of scientific and technological revolution, more changes have occurred in the development of productive forces and social relations than in any similar period of time in the past.

Moreover, each subsequent change in human activities occurs at shorter intervals.

In the course of scientific and technological progress, the earth's biosphere has been subjected to powerful impacts various types human activity. The anthropogenic impact of society on nature has increased sharply.
2. Global population growth. He posed a number of problems to humanity, first of all, the problem of providing food and other means of subsistence. At the same time, environmental problems associated with human living conditions have become more acute.
3. Problem nuclear weapons and nuclear disaster.
These and some other problems affect not only individual regions or countries, but also humanity as a whole. For example, the consequences nuclear test are felt everywhere. The depletion of the ozone layer, caused largely by an imbalance in the hydrocarbon balance, is felt by all inhabitants of the planet. The use of chemicals used to control field pests can cause mass poisonings in regions and countries geographically distant from the place of production of contaminated products.
Thus, the global problems of our time are a complex of acute socio-natural contradictions that affect the world as a whole, and with it local regions and countries.

Global problems must be distinguished from regional, local and local ones.
Regional problems include a range of pressing issues that arise within individual continents, large socio-economic regions of the world or in large states.

The concept “local” refers to problems either of individual states or large areas of one or two states (for example, earthquakes, floods, other natural disasters and their consequences, local military conflicts; collapse Soviet Union etc.).

Local problems arise in certain regions of states and cities (for example, conflicts between the population and the administration, temporary difficulties with water supply, heating, etc.). However, we should not forget that unresolved regional, local and local problems can become global character. For example, the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant directly affected only a number of regions of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia ( regional problem), however, if the necessary safety measures are not taken, its consequences may in one way or another affect other countries, and even become global. Any local military conflict can gradually turn into a global one if its course affects the interests of a number of countries other than its participants, as evidenced by the history of the First and Second World Wars, etc.
On the other hand, since global problems, as a rule, are not solved on their own, and even with targeted efforts a positive result is not always achieved, in the practice of the world community they strive, if possible, to transform them into local ones (for example, to legally limit the birth rate in a number of individual countries with demographic explosion), which, of course, does not exhaustively solve the global problem, but it does provide a certain gain in time before the onset of catastrophic consequences.
Thus, global problems affect not only the interests of individuals, nations, countries, continents, but can affect the prospects for the future development of the world; they cannot be resolved on their own or even through the efforts of individual countries, but require focused and organized efforts of the entire world community.

Unsolved global problems can lead in the future to serious, even irreversible consequences for humans and their environment. The generally recognized global problems are: environmental pollution, resource problems, demography and nuclear weapons; a number of other problems.
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.

Other global problems are emerging.

Classification of global problems

The exceptional difficulties and high costs of solving global problems require their justified classification.

According to their origin, nature and methods of solution, global problems, according to the classification adopted by international organizations, are divided into three groups. The first group consists of problems determined by the main socio-economic and political tasks of humanity. These include maintaining peace, ending the arms race and disarmament, non-militarization of space, creating favorable conditions for global social progress, and overcoming the development gap of countries with low per capita incomes.

The second group covers a complex of problems revealed in the triad “man - society - technology”. These problems should take into account the effectiveness of using scientific and technical progress in the interests of harmonious social development and the elimination negative influence technology per person, population growth, the establishment of human rights in the state, its liberation from the excessively increased control of state institutions, especially over personal freedom as the most important component of human rights.

The third group is represented by problems related to socio-economic processes and the environment, that is, problems of relations between society and nature. This includes solving raw materials, energy and food problems, overcoming the environmental crisis, which is spreading to more and more new areas and can destroy human life.

The end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. led to the development of a number of local, specific issues of development of countries and regions into the category of global ones. However, it should be recognized that internationalization played a decisive role in this process.

The number of global problems is growing, in separate publications recent years More than twenty problems of our time are named, but most authors identify four main global problems: environmental, peacekeeping and disarmament, demographic, fuel and raw materials.

The energy problem in the global economy

The energy resource problem as a global one began to be discussed after the energy (oil) crisis of 1972-1973, when, as a result of coordinated actions, member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) simultaneously increased the prices of the crude oil they sold by almost 10 times. A similar step, but on a more modest scale (OPEC countries were unable to overcome internal competitive contradictions), was taken in the early 80s. This allowed us to talk about the second wave of the global energy crisis. As a result, for 1972-1981. oil prices increased 14.5 times. In the literature, this was called the “global oil shock,” which marked the end of the era of cheap oil and caused a chain reaction of rising prices for various other types of raw materials. Some analysts of those years regarded such events as evidence of the depletion of the world's non-renewable natural resources and the entry of humanity into an era of prolonged energy and raw materials “hunger”.

Energy and raw materials crises of the 70s - early 80s. dealt a heavy blow to the existing system of world economic relations and caused grave consequences in many countries. First of all, this affected those countries that, in the development of their national economies, relied heavily on relatively cheap and sustainable imports of energy resources and mineral raw materials.

The most profound energy and raw material crises affected most developing countries, calling into question the possibility of implementing a national development strategy in them, and in some, the possibility of economic survival of the state. It is known that the vast majority of mineral reserves located in developing countries are concentrated in about 30 of them. The remaining developing countries, in order to ensure their economic development, which in many of them was based on the idea of industrialization, are forced to import most of the necessary mineral raw materials and energy resources.

Energy and raw materials crises of the 70-80s. also contained positive elements. Firstly, the united actions of natural resource suppliers from developing countries allowed outsider countries in relation to individual agreements and organizations of raw material exporting countries to pursue a more active foreign trade policy in raw materials. Yes, one of largest exporters oil and other types of energy and mineral raw materials became the former USSR.

Secondly, the crises gave impetus to the development of energy-saving and material-saving technologies, strengthening the regime for saving raw materials, and accelerating the structural restructuring of the economy. These measures, taken primarily by developed countries, have made it possible to significantly mitigate the consequences of the energy crisis.

In particular, only in the 70-80s. Energy intensity of production in developed countries decreased by 1/4.

Increased attention has been paid to the use of alternative materials and energy sources.

For example, in France in the 90s. Nuclear power plants produced about 80% of all electricity consumed. Currently, the share of nuclear power plants in global electricity production is 1/4.

Thirdly, under the influence of the crisis, large-scale geological exploration work began to be carried out, which led to the discovery of new oil and gas fields, as well as economically viable reserves of other types of natural raw materials. Thus, the North Sea and Alaska became new large areas for oil production, and Australia, Canada, and South Africa for mineral raw materials.

As a result, pessimistic forecasts for the supply of world energy and mineral raw materials gave way to optimistic calculations based on new data. If in the 70s - early 80s. supply of main types of energy resources was estimated at 30-35 years, then at the end of the 90s. it increased: for oil - up to 42 years, for natural gas - up to 67 years, and for coal - up to 440 years.

Thus, the global energy resource problem in the previous understanding as the danger of an absolute shortage of resources in the world does not now exist. But the problem of reliably providing humanity with raw materials and energy remains.

Ecological problem.

ECOLOGICAL PROBLEM

(from the Greek oikos - abode, house and logos - teaching) - in a broad sense, the whole complex of issues caused by the contradictory dynamics of the internal self-development of nature. The basis of the specific manifestation of E.p. at the biological level of the organization of matter there is a contradiction between the needs of any living unit (organism, species, community) for matter, energy, information to ensure its own development and the capabilities of the environment to satisfy these needs. In a narrower sense, environmental protection is understood as a set of issues that arise in the interaction of nature and society and concern the preservation of the biosphere system, the rationalization of resource use, and the extension of ethical standards to the biological and inorganic levels of the organization of matter.
E. p. is characteristic of all stages of social development, since it is a problem of normalizing living conditions. Definition of E.p. how the problem of human survival at the present stage makes it easier to understand its content.
E. p. is the core in the system of global contradictions ( cm. GLOBAL PROBLEMS). The main factors destabilizing the global situation are: the buildup of all types of weapons; lack of effective technological and legal support for the process of destruction of certain types of weapons (for example, chemical weapons); development of nuclear weapons, operation of nuclear power plants in economically and politically unstable countries; local and regional military conflicts; attempts to use cheaper bacteriological weapons for the purposes of international terrorism; population growth and extensive urbanization, accompanied by a gap in resource consumption levels between the “have” countries and the remaining “have-not” countries; poor development of both alternative environmentally friendly types of energy and decontamination technologies; industrial accidents; uncontrolled use of genetically modified crops and organisms in Food Industry; ignoring the global consequences of the storage and disposal of toxic military and industrial waste, uncontrollably “buried” in the 20th century.
The main reasons for the modern environmental crisis include: industrialization of society based on waste technologies; the predominance of anthropocentrism and technocracy in scientific support and socio-economic and political decisions in the field of environmental management; the confrontation between capitalist and socialist social systems, which determined the content of all global events of the 20th century. The modern environmental crisis is characterized by a sharp increase in all types of pollution of the biosphere with substances that are evolutionarily unusual for it; reduction in species diversity and degradation of stable biogeocenoses, undermining the ability of the biosphere to self-regulate; anti-ecological orientation of the cosmization of human activity. The deepening of these trends can lead to a global environmental catastrophe - the death of humanity and its culture, the disintegration of the evolutionarily established spatiotemporal connections of living and nonliving matter of the biosphere.
E. p. is complex in nature and is the focus of the entire system of knowledge, starting from the second. floor. 20th century In the works of the Club of Rome, the ecological prospects of humanity were studied by constructing models of the modern relationship between society and nature and futurological extrapolations of the dynamics of its trends. The results of the research revealed the fundamental insufficiency of private scientific methods and purely technical means of solving this problem.
From ser. 1970s interdisciplinary study of socio-ecological contradictions, causes of aggravation and alternatives for future development is carried out in the course of interaction of two relatively independent directions: general scientific and humanitarian. Within the framework of a general scientific approach, V.I.’s ideas received significant theoretical development. Vernadsky, K.E. Tsiolkovsky, representatives of “constructive geography” (L. Fsvr, M. Sor) and “human geography” (P. March, J. Brun, E. Martonne).
The beginning of the humanitarian approach to environmental protection was laid by the Chicago school of environmental sociology, which studied various forms of human destruction of the environment and formulated the basic principles of environmental protection (R. Park, E. Burgess, R.D. Mackenzie). Within the framework of the humanitarian approach, patterns of abiogenic, biogenic and anthropogenically modified factors and their relationships with a set of anthropological and sociocultural factors are identified.
General scientific and humanitarian directions are united by a qualitatively new task for the entire system of knowledge of understanding the nature of changes in the structure of life caused by global expansion modern man. In the process of consistent consideration of this task, in line with the ecologization of knowledge at the intersection of the humanities and natural sciences, a complex of environmental disciplines is being formed (human ecology, social ecology, global ecology, etc.), the object of study of which is the specificity of the relationship between different levels of the fundamental life dichotomy “organism” - Wednesday." Ecology as a set of new theoretical approaches and methodological orientations had a significant influence on the development of scientific thinking in the 20th century. and the formation of environmental consciousness.
Formed in the second. floor. 20th century Philosopher interpretations of the problem of interaction between nature and society (naturalistic, noospheric, technocratic) over the years of environmental alarmism, the development of the international environmental movement and interdisciplinary research on this problem have undergone certain stylistic and substantive changes.
Representatives of modern naturalism are traditionally based on the ideas of the intrinsic value of nature, eternity and the binding nature of its laws for all living things, and the predetermined nature of nature as the only possible environment for human existence. But a “return to nature” is understood as the continued existence of humanity only in conditions of stable biogeochemical cycles, which means the conservation of the existing natural balance by stopping large-scale technological and social changes in the environment, reducing the rate of population growth, rationalizing consumption, authoritative enforcement of environmental discipline and environmental protection, and the spread of action ethical principles at all levels of life.
Within the framework of the “noosphere approach”, the idea of the noosphere, first expressed by Vernadsky in his doctrine of the biosphere, is developed as the idea of co-evolution. Vernadsky understood the noosphere as a natural stage of biosphere evolution, created by the thought and labor of a single humanity. At the present stage, coevolution is interpreted as the further joint dead-end development of society and nature as interconnected, but different ways of self-reproduction of life in the biosphere.

Humanity can develop, so to speak. representatives of the noospheric approach, only in a self-developing biosphere. Human activities must be included in stable biogeochemical cycles. One of the main tasks of coevolution is to manage human adaptation to changed environmental conditions. The co-evolutionary development project provides for a radical restructuring of technologies and communication systems, large-scale waste disposal, the creation of closed production cycles, the introduction of environmental control over planning, and the dissemination of the principles of environmental ethics.
Representatives of the post-technocratic version of the future interaction between society and nature supplement the basic idea of removing any limits from the transformative activity of humanity through a radical technological restructuring of the biosphere with the idea of qualitatively improving the mechanism of evolution of man himself as a biological species. As a result, humanity will allegedly be able to exist in environmentally unfamiliar environments both outside the biosphere and in a completely artificial civilization within the biosphere, where social life will be ensured by artificially reproduced biogeochemical cycles. In fact, we're talking about about the development of the radical idea of autotrophy of humanity, expressed at one time by Tsiolkovsky.
Ontological and epistemological analysis of E.p. at the present stage, it allows us to avoid one-sided theoretical conclusions, the hasty implementation of which can sharply worsen the ecological situation of humanity.

Previous26272829303132333435363738394041Next

The text of the work is posted without images and formulas.
Full version work is available in the "Work Files" tab in PDF format

Introduction

The growing role of world politics and relations between countries,

the relationship and scale between world processes in economic, political, social and cultural life. And also the inclusion in international life and communication of ever larger masses of the population are objective prerequisites for the emergence of global, worldwide problems. In fact, this problem is really relevant in recent times. At the moment, humanity is seriously faced with very serious problems that are affecting the whole world, in addition also threatening civilization and even the very lives of people on this earth.

Since the 70-80s of the 20th century, a system of problems associated with the growth of production, political and socio-cultural processes occurring in different countries, regions and the world as a whole has clearly emerged in society. These problems, which in the second half of the 20th century were called global, to one degree or another accompanied the formation and development of modern civilization.

Problems of world development are characterized by extreme diversity, due to regional and local characteristics, and sociocultural specifics.

Research into global problems in our country was launched with a certain delay during the period of their significant aggravation, much later than similar studies in the West.

Currently, human efforts are aimed at preventing a global military catastrophe and ending the arms race; creating prerequisites for the effective development of the world economy and eliminating socio-economic backwardness; rationalization of environmental management, prevention of changes natural environment human habitats and improvement of the biosphere; carrying out an active demographic policy and solving energy, raw materials and food problems; effective use of scientific achievements and development of international cooperation. Expanding research in the field of space exploration and the oceans; elimination of the most dangerous and widespread diseases.

1 Concept of global problems

The term “global” itself originates from Latin word“globe”, that is, the Earth, the globe, and since the late 60s of the 20th century it has become widespread to designate the most important and serious planetary problems of the modern era, affecting humanity as a whole. This is a set of the most important life problems, on the solution of which the further social progress of mankind depends and which, in turn, can themselves be resolved only thanks to this progress. In order to combine different approaches to global problems, in order to understand the results obtained, the need arose for a new science - the theory of global problems, or global studies. It is intended to develop practical recommendations for solving global problems. Effective recommendations must take into account multiple social, economic and political factors

Global problems of humanity are problems of all humanity that affect the relationship between society and nature, issues of joint solutions to resource availability, and relationships between countries of the world community. Global problems have no borders. Not a single country or state is able to solve these problems on its own. Only through joint large-scale, international cooperation is it possible to solve them. It is very important to realize the universal interdependence and highlight the objectives of society. This will prevent social and economic disasters. Global problems differ from each other in their characteristics.

Of all the totality of problems of today's world, global issues vital for humanity, the qualitative criterion acquires significant importance. The qualitative side of defining global problems is expressed in the following main characteristics:

1) problems that affect the interests of all humanity and each person individually;

2) act as an objective factor further development peace, the existence of modern civilization;

3) their solution requires the efforts of all peoples, or at least the majority of the planet's population;

4) failure to solve global problems can lead in the future to irreparable consequences for all humanity and each individual person.

Thus, qualitative and quantitative factors in their unity and interrelation make it possible to isolate those problems of social development that are global, or vitally important for all humanity and each individual person.

All global problems of social development are characterized by mobility, because none of these problems is in a static state, each of them is constantly changing, acquiring different intensity, and therefore significance in one way or another. historical era. As some of the global problems are solved, the latter may lose their relevance on a global scale, moving to another, for example, local level, or disappear altogether (an illustrative example is the disease of smallpox, which, being a truly global problem in the past, has practically disappeared today).

Exacerbation of traditional problems (food, energy, raw materials, demographic, environmental, etc.) that have arisen in different time and among different peoples a new social phenomenon is now forming - a set of global problems of our time.

IN general view Social problems are considered global. Which, affecting the vital interests of humanity, require the efforts of the entire world community to be resolved.

At the same time, global, universal, and regional problems can be distinguished.

Global problems facing society can be grouped as follows: 1) those that may worsen and require appropriate action. To prevent this from happening; 2) those that, in the absence of a solution, can already lead to disaster; 3) those whose severity has been removed, but they require constant monitoring

1.2Causes of global problems

Scientists and philosophers have put forward hypotheses about the connection between human activity and the state of the biosphere. Russian scientist V.I. Vernandsky in 1944 said that human activity is acquiring a scale comparable to the power of natural forces. This allowed him to raise the question of restructuring the biosphere into the noosphere (the sphere of activity of the mind).

What caused global problems? These reasons include the sharp increase in the human population, the scientific and technological revolution, the use of space, the emergence of a unified world information system, and many others.

The industrial revolution of the 18th-19th centuries, interstate contradictions, scientific and technological revolution of the mid-20th century, and integration aggravated the situation. Problems grew like a snowball as humanity moved along the path of progress. Second World War marked the beginning of the transformation of local problems into global ones.

Global problems are a consequence of the confrontation between natural 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, while human culture exists on the principle of positive feedback. On the one hand, there is the enormous scale of human activity, which has radically changed nature, society, and people’s way of life. On the other hand, it is a person’s inability to rationally manage this power.

So, we can name the reasons for the emergence of global problems:

globalization of the world;

the catastrophic consequences of human activity, the inability of humanity to rationally manage its mighty power.

1.3 The main global problems of our time

Researchers offer several options for classifying global problems. The challenges facing humanity at the present stage of development relate to both the technical and moral spheres.

The most pressing global problems can be divided into three groups:

1.Demographic problem;

2. Food problem;

3. Shortage of energy and raw materials.

Demographic problem.

Over the past 30 years, the world has experienced an unprecedented population explosion. While the birth rate remained high and the mortality rate decreased, the population growth rate increased significantly. However, the global demographic situation in the field of population is by no means unambiguous. If in 1800 there were up to 1 billion in the world. person, in 1930 - already 2 billion; in the 70s of the 20th century, the world population approached 3 billion, and at the beginning of the 80s it was about 4.7 billion. Human. By the end of the 90s, the world population was more than 5 billion. Human. If the vast majority of countries are characterized by relatively high rates of population growth, then for Russia and some other countries the demographic trends are of a different nature. Thus, there is a demographic crisis in the former socialist world.

Some countries are experiencing an absolute decline in population; in others they are quite characteristic high rates population growth, one of the features of the socio-demographic situation in the countries of the post-Soviet space is the persistence in most of them of relatively high mortality rates, especially among children. In the early 1980s, the world as a whole experienced a decline in the birth rate. For example, if in the mid-70s, 32 children were born annually for every 1000 people, then at the beginning of the 80s -90s, 29. At the end of the 90s, the corresponding processes tend to persist.

Changes in fertility and mortality rates affect not only the rate of population growth, its structure, including gender composition. So in the mid-80s Western countries for every 100 women there were 94 men, while in different regions the ratio of male and female populations is by no means the same. For example, in America the sex ratio of the population is approximately equal. In Asia, men are slightly larger than average; There are more women in Africa.

As we age, gender imbalances change in favor of the female population. The fact is that the average life expectancy of women is longer than that of men. IN European countries The average life expectancy is about 70 years, and for women -78. The longest life expectancy for women is in Japan, Switzerland and Iceland (more than 80 years). Men live longer in Japan (about 75 years).

The increase in childhood and youth ages of the population, on the one hand, the increase in average life expectancy and the reduction in the birth rate, on the other, determine the trend of population aging, that is, an increase in its structure of the proportion of elderly people aged 60 years and older. In the early 90s, this category included up to 10% of the world's population. Currently this figure is 16%.

Food problem.

To solve the most pressing global problems arising in the interaction of society and nature, collective action of the entire world community is necessary. The worsening global food situation in the world is precisely such a problem.

According to some estimates, the total number of people suffering from famine at the beginning of the 80s was 400 million, and in the 90s half a billion. This figure fluctuated between 700 and 800 million people. The most acute food problem faces Asian African countries, for which the priority task is to eliminate hunger. According to available data, over 450 million people in these countries suffer from hunger, malnutrition or malnutrition. The aggravation of the food problem cannot but be affected by the destruction as a result of modern economic development of the most important natural life support systems: oceanic fauna, forests, and cultivated lands. The food supply of the population of our planet is influenced by: the energy problem, the nature and characteristics of climatic conditions; chronic food shortages and poverty in some regions of the world, instability of food production and distribution; fluctuations in world prices, insecurity of food supplies to the poorest countries from abroad, low productivity agricultural production.

Deficiency of energy and raw materials.

It is widely believed that modern civilization has already used up a significant, if not most, of its energy and raw material resources. For a long time, the energy supply of the planet was based on the use of predominantly living energy, that is, the energy resources of humans and animals. If we follow the forecasts of an optimist, then the world's oil reserves will last for 2 - 3 centuries. Pessimists argue that existing oil reserves can meet the needs of civilization for only a few more decades. Such calculations, however, do not take into account the existing discoveries of new deposits of raw materials, as well as new opportunities for discovering alternative energy sources. Somewhere similar estimates are made for other traditional types of fossil fuels. These figures are rather conditional, but one thing is clear: the scale of use of industrial energy installations of direct resources is acquiring such a character that one should take into account their limitations, due to the level of development of science, technology and technology, and the need to maintain the dynamic balance of ecosystems. In this case, if no surprises occur, there is apparently every reason to assert: in the predicted future, there should be enough industrial, energy and raw material resources for the needs of humanity.

It is also necessary to take into account the high degree of probability of the discovery of new sources of energy resources.

2. Ways to solve global problems

Solving global problems is a task of extreme importance and complexity, and so far it cannot be said with confidence that ways to overcome them have been found. According to many social scientists, no matter what individual problem we take from the global system, it cannot be solved without first overcoming the spontaneity in the development of earthly civilization, without moving to coordinated and planned actions on a global scale. Only such actions can save society, as well as its natural environment.

Conditions for solving modern global problems:

The efforts of states aimed at solving major and socially significant problems are intensifying.

New ones are created and developed technological processes, based on the principles of rational use of natural materials. Saving energy and raw materials, using recycled materials and resource-saving technologies.

The progress of scientific technologies, including the development of biotechnologies, based on the effective use of chemical, biological and microbiological processes, is becoming comprehensive.

The orientation towards an integrated approach in the development of fundamental and applied developments, production and science prevails.

Globalist scientists offer various options for solving global problems of our time:

Character change production activities- creation of waste-free production, heat-energy-resource-saving technologies, use of alternative energy sources (sun, wind, etc.);

Creation of a new world order, development of a new formula for global governance of the world community on the principles of understanding the modern world as an integral and interconnected community of people;

Recognition of universal human values, attitude towards life, man and the world as the highest values of humanity;

Refusal of war as a means of resolving controversial issues, search for ways to peacefully resolve international problems and conflicts.

Only together can humanity solve the problem of overcoming the environmental crisis.

One of the most popular points of view for solving this problem is to instill in people new moral and ethical values. Thus, in one of the reports to the Club of Rome, it is written that new ethical education should be aimed at:

1) the development of global consciousness, thanks to which a person realizes himself as a member of the world community;

2) formation of a more thrifty attitude towards the use of natural resources;

3) development of such an attitude towards nature, which would be based on harmony, and not on subordination;

4) fostering a sense of belonging to future generations and a willingness to give up part of one’s own benefits in their favor.

It is possible and necessary to successfully fight for the solution of global problems now on the basis of constructive and mutually acceptable cooperation of all countries and peoples, regardless of the differences in the social systems to which they belong.

Solving global problems is only possible through the joint efforts of all countries coordinating their actions at the international level. Self-isolation and development features will not allow individual countries to remain aloof from the economic crisis, nuclear war, the threat of terrorism or the AIDS epidemic. To solve global problems and overcome the danger that threatens all of humanity, it is necessary to further strengthen the interconnection of the diverse modern world, change the interaction with the environment, abandon the cult of consumption, and develop new values.

Conclusion

To summarize, we can say that the global problem is the result of enormous human activity, which leads to changes in the way of life of people, society and the essence of nature.

Global problems threaten all of humanity.

And accordingly, without certain human qualities, without the global responsibility of each person, it is impossible to solve any of the global problems.

Let us hope that an important function of all countries in the 21st century will be the preservation of natural resources and the cultural and educational level of people. Because we are currently seeing significant gaps in these areas. It may also be that the formation of a new - information - world community, with humane goals, will become that necessary link in the development of humanity, which will lead it to the solution and elimination of major global problems.

Bibliography

1. Social studies - textbook for grade 10 - profile level - Bogolyubov L.N., Lazebnikova A. Yu., Smirnova N. M. Social studies, grade 11, Vishnevsky M.I., 2010

2. Social studies - Textbook - 11th grade - Bogolyubov L.N., Lazebnikova A.Yu., Kholodkovsky K.G. - 2008

3. Social studies. Klimenko A.V., Rumanina V.V. A textbook for high school students and those entering universities

Every person has problems. Relationships with loved ones are not going well, there is not enough money to fulfill any desires, failures in school and work, etc. But on a global scale, these are trifles. At this level, there are completely different issues - these are global problems of society. Is it possible to solve them?

History and origin

Global problems have been troubling humanity in one way or another throughout its development. But those that are not resolved today became extremely relevant relatively recently, in the last third of the 20th century.

According to most researchers, all global problems of the modern world are closely interconnected, and their solution should be comprehensive, and not isolated. Perhaps it’s all about the concept of humanity’s relationship to its home - planet Earth. For a very, very long time it was purely consumer. People did not think about the future, about what kind of world their children and more distant descendants would have to live in.

As a result, we have come to an extreme degree of dependence on the contents of the earth's bowels, unwilling to fully use renewable energy sources. At the same time, these global problems acquired a truly catastrophic scale simultaneously with the demographic explosion, which aggravated them. It can also be said to be the reason why there is a shortage of resources, forcing us to dig deeper and deeper into earth's crust, closing this vicious circle. All this is accompanied by an extreme degree of social tension, which gives rise to misunderstanding between different states, and ignoring this problem inexorably leads to an increase in the likelihood of a global armed conflict.

Levels of human problems

Without a doubt, the scale of pressing issues varies. There are problems:

individual, i.e. affecting the life of one person and, possibly, his loved ones;
local, regional, which are related to the development of the district, region, etc.;
state, those that are important for the entire country or most of it;
international, affecting a macroregion, which may include many territories;
global, planetary scale, affecting almost everyone.

Of course, this does not mean that one person's problems are unimportant and not worth paying attention to. But on a planetary scale they are truly insignificant. What is a conflict with your superiors in comparison with the hunger and poverty of a billion people or the threat of nuclear war? Of course, we can say that the happiness of each individual person leads to general well-being, but without solving the global problems of humanity, this cannot be achieved. And what are these questions?

Environmental

Global problems primarily include human influence on nature. Yes, this is indeed one of the most important questions, because people are literally destroying their home. Air, water and soil pollution, extinction of animals and plants, destruction of the ozone layer, deforestation and desertification. Of course, some of this is natural processes, but human contributions are also visible.

People continue to ravage the bowels of the earth, pumping oil and gas, extracting coal and metals necessary for their lives. But the irrational use of these resources and the reluctance to switch to renewable energy sources may in the foreseeable future become the cause of a real collapse.

Megacities are places of terrible noise and light pollution. Here people almost never see the starry sky or hear birds singing. Air polluted by cars and factories causes premature aging and health problems. Progress has made people's lives easier and faster, but at the same time, consumer society has made waste disposal more important than ever before. It’s worth considering that every day the most ordinary person generates an insane amount of garbage. But there is also radioactive waste... In these conditions, it is simply vital to stop solving problems alone and start thinking more globally.

Economic problems

The global division of labor has allowed the world community to produce goods and services more efficiently and has developed trade to its current level. But at the same time, the problem of poverty in some regions has become acute. Lack of necessary resources, low development, social problems- all this one way or another slows down progress in regions such as Africa and Central and South America. The most developed countries are prospering and getting richer, while the rest lag behind, living only by selling some valuable resources. This gap in the income of the world's population is simply enormous. And charity in this case is not always the answer.

Economic global problems may also include potential overpopulation of the planet. The point is not that people may not have enough space - there are areas in the world where almost no one lives. But the number of people is growing exponentially, and the growth of food production is only arithmetic. This leads to the problem of poverty and its possible further spread, especially taking into account the environmental situation.

The question is also what foreign policy some countries simply do not allow them to unite and think globally. Meanwhile, economic problems are accumulating and affecting ordinary people.

Social

The planet is torn apart by constant conflicts. The constant threat of war, social tension, racial and religious intolerance - society seems to be constantly on the brink. Unrest breaks out here and there. The revolutions of the last decade have shown how terrible wars within a country can be. Egypt, Syria, Libya, Ukraine - there are enough examples, and everyone knows about them. As a result, there are no winners; everyone loses in one way or another, and first of all, the common population.

In the Middle East, women are fighting for their rights: they want to study in schools and universities without fear for their health and lives. They want to stop being second-class citizens - it’s scary to think, but in some countries this still happens. In some countries, a woman is more likely to be raped than to learn to count. Can we really assume that these are not global social problems? And if so, then we need to deal with them together.

Solution

Of course, one cannot say with a high degree of confidence that the above-mentioned global social problems, economic and environmental issues will soon lead to the self-destruction of humanity. But it’s hardly worth denying the fact that such a possibility exists.

Solving global problems is a very difficult matter. You cannot simply limit the birth rate or find an unlimited source of energy - a complete spiritual rebirth of humanity is necessary, which would change our attitude towards nature, the planet and each other.

Some global problems of countries and the whole world have already been solved to some extent. Racial segregation has disappeared, so that now all people in civilized countries, regardless of skin color, have equal rights. Everyone else strives for the same position, trying not to evaluate people based on their religion, orientation, gender, etc.

Organizations and figures

There are several supranational bodies in the world that deal with various issues. One of these organizations was the UN, created in 1945. It includes several special commissions, whose work in one way or another deals with global problems of humanity. The UN is engaged in peacekeeping missions, protection of human rights, development international legislation, social and economic issues.

In addition, individuals are also involved in activities aimed at solving global problems. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Eisaku Sato and others fought for the future they wanted for their descendants. Among our contemporaries, many public people are engaged in similar activities. Shakira, Angelina Jolie, Natalia Vodianova, Chulpan Khamatova and many others establish charitable foundations, become UN Goodwill Ambassadors and do other things that make the world a better place.

Awards

For contributions or even courageous attempts to change the world for the better public figures various awards are presented. The most prestigious of them is the Nobel Prize. In 2014, its laureate was Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old girl from Pakistan who, despite the fact that her life was threatened constant danger, attended school every day and wrote a blog in which she talked about life under the Taliban regime, which had own views on the need for education for women. After surviving the assassination attempt, she ended up in the UK, but decided to return to her homeland. She was awarded the prize for fighting for her interests and defending her own rights. After the award, Malala released her autobiography, the Taliban’s reaction to which was a promise to kill the girl.

Why should it matter?

Of course, we can say that global problems are not our business, because the consequences of ignoring them will not hit us. Overpopulation, poverty, war, ecological catastrophy- even if all this is inevitable, it will not happen here and now. But you should think not only about yourself, but also about your children, loved ones and friends. Even if global problems of society cannot be solved alone, you can start small: try to use less packaging, recycle garbage, do not waste water, save electricity. It's not hard, but if everyone did it, maybe the world would be a little better.

Good day, dear friends! We have already covered “cross-cutting” topics in social studies more than once. For example, we previously told. In this post we will talk briefly about the global problems of our time as part of a school social studies course.

Before talking about them, it is necessary to understand what the problem is? A problem is a situation in which there is a contradiction between two or more elements. Well, for example: are bad roads in Russia a problem? Don't rush to give a definite answer! After all, bad roads in themselves do not affect anything. However, people drive on them, and accidents occur due to the quality of the road surface. It turns out that the problem will sound like this: the influence of the quality of roads on the number of accidents. There are two elements: the quality of roads and the number of accidents.

Global problems are contradictions in the life of society that cannot be resolved by just one state; their solution requires the intervention of the world community! The ways to solve them can be very different: the problem of war is solved by agreement between states, hunger - humanitarian aid and may be the development of the economies of countries in which it exists, etc.

Now let's look at some global problems that you can use to justify your theses when you...

War and Peace

This modern global problem is that there are hotbeds of military conflicts in the world that can escalate into a global armed conflict.

One such conflict: Arab-Israeli: between Arabs and Jews living in the State of Israel. The origins of this conflict go back to the end of the 19th century, when the ideology of Zionism appeared. By the way, you can find out by following the link. The founder of this ideology is Theodor Herzl, who in his book “The Jewish State” put forward the idea that representatives of the Jewish people should form their own national state. And not just anywhere, but in its historical ancestral home - Palestine.

Meanwhile, Arabs have lived in Palestine for a long time. As a result, the so-called aliyah began - the migration of Jews to Palestine. Of course, on this basis, conflicts arise between Arabs and Jews in Palestine: over political influence, power, over land issues, so migrants seized land from local residents... The matter was complicated by the fact that Great Britain supported the policy of resettlement.

As a result, in May 1948, Israel, the state in which Jews lived, declared its independence from Palestine. And immediately the Arab-Israeli armed conflicts began:

First Arab-Israeli (Palestinian) War 1948-1949
Anglo-French-Israeli aggression against Egypt in 1956.
"Six Day" War of 1967
"October" war of 1973

As we know, today this region is in constant conflict, which can develop into a global conflict.

Another similar conflict flared up quite recently in Ukraine.

A similar military conflict could occur between the North and South Korea, between China and Taiwan, etc. More recently there were armed revolutions in Libya and Egypt. Thus, you yourself will be able to understand these conflicts if you Google it yourself :) And we move on.

Poverty

As you understand, the problem of poverty relates to the economic sphere of society. I would also call it the contradiction of the big difference between rich and poor. It is also social in nature. Well, for example, a son from a wealthy family goes to a school where different children study. As a result, there are children in the class and they differ in how they are dressed, what phones they have and how they communicate.

Children can already be cruel, and if there are also material differences, this can lead to frequent conflicts and tragedies.

Today, according to official data, there are about 8 million street children in Russia - vagabonds who are not needed by anyone. No one will tell you the exact number. Plus, in Russia, 60% barely make ends meet - they have enough money for clothes and food, but buying durable goods is a problem. This can be seen in the materials of the Levada Center survey.

Well, imagine a young man of about 22 years old who came from the army and cannot get a job anywhere, because there is simply no work and there is no money for education. As a result, he works as a loader or cleaner. And he sees a man his age who has already “earned” a Hummer and an apartment. How will he feel?

I wrote in more detail how to avoid ending up in such a situation in the post. But the problem of poverty remains global. For example, while you are reading this post, in an hour in Africa, 25 thousand people have already died of starvation. There are rich and poor countries - no one is solving this situation either.

Global ecology

A very complex and pressing problem of our time. Hundreds of thousands of factories operate on Earth: from processing to manufacturing, millions of cars drive, thousands of tons of chemicals and toxic substances are thrown into rivers and reservoirs.

As a result, all this has an extremely serious impact on people’s health: every day children are born with congenital defects. chronic diseases. Allergies, asthma, eczema, cancer... And every year the situation gets worse. Meanwhile, most people will continue to live their lives, their virtual lives: on social networks. Few people really make efforts to ensure that the world around them is suitable for life.

Scientists have calculated that ancient man I would have lived in our polluted city for a maximum of two minutes. Then he would have died of suffocation. Can you imagine what kind of mutants we are if we live in cities until we grow old?!

Modern demographic problem

Today, over 6 billion people live in the modern world. In the middle of the last century there was a theory of the golden billion: its essence was that only 1 billion people could live peacefully on Earth. The rest are doomed to death, since there are not enough resources for everyone. And the people themselves, as they become more numerous, begin to destroy themselves. For example, in the 19th century there was only one global war: Napoleonic.

In the last century there were already two world wars, and they took over 60 million people to their graves. What will happen in the 21st century? In addition, the demographic problem lies in the fact that the population is increasingly aging: due to the level of development of medicine, it is becoming more people which cannot be useful. Ultimately, if young people leave the country, who will work? And the old people themselves sometimes lead a terrible existence.

The demographic problem directly relates to the issue of using human capital. People are a non-renewable resource and, in fact, the most valuable resource. Well look. One person can come up with a new device, program or computer. In short, a person can invent a tool. Running out of oil? There is wind and solar energy.

Only a person can figure out how to convert this energy into electricity, and therefore into heat and light! Only a person can figure out how to purify the surrounding air from water bodies. However, for a person to come up with this, it is necessary to develop him, to instill in him a sense of humanity and responsibility. We need to give him opportunities for creativity and encourage his creativity.

And our education system is aimed only at ensuring that a person learns to stupidly poke a pen at a test.

Related to this demographic situation is the problem of drug addiction and AIDS. In essence, these diseases are a kind of punishment for people for their excesses. Don't you think so? Then write your point of view in the comments.

In conclusion, I give a small diagram of the global problems of our time:

This is where I will finish this article about the global problems of our time. I hope you can use it asfor argumentation during execution Unified State Exam tests in social studies.

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov