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“Global problems” are a set of problems that humanity faced in the second half of the 20th century. and on the solution of which the existence of civilization depends.
These problems are global because: affect all humanity; manifest themselves as an objective factor in the development of society; The future fate of civilization depends on their decision.
Causes of global problems: the active transformative nature of human activity; contradictions and conflicts become global from local due to the growing interdependence of humanity.
Main (priority) global problems: the problem of peace and disarmament, prevention of a new world war; demographic; overcoming the backwardness of developing countries; food; raw materials; energy; environmental; use of the World Ocean; world space exploration.
All global problems are interconnected. It is impossible to solve each of them separately: humanity must solve them together, for the sake of preserving life on the planet.
Main directions for resolving global problems
· Formation of a new planetary consciousness. Education of a person on the principles of humanism. Widely informing people about global issues.
· Comprehensive study of the causes and contradictions, conditions leading to the emergence and aggravation of problems
· Concentration of efforts of all countries to solve global problems. Cooperation is necessary in creating the latest environmental technologies, a common world center for the study of global problems, a common fund of funds and resources, and information exchange.
· Taking international cooperation to a new qualitative level
· Observation and control of global processes on the planet. Obtaining objective information from each country and international research is necessary for forecasting and decision-making.
· Clear international forecasting system.
The beginning of the 21st century is characterized by the exacerbation of many global problems
At the beginning of the 21st century, the exacerbation of global problems raised the question of the present and future of human civilization in a new way, making the above conclusion about the possibility of learning from disasters very controversial. The threat of a global planetary catastrophe, the disappearance of humanity itself as a species as a result of either nuclear war, or degradation of the natural environment, the planet’s biosphere under the influence of anthropogenic loads, or the aggravation of other contradictions of such a scale began to grow.
Problems that concern not any particular continent or state, but the entire planet, are called global. As civilization develops, it accumulates more and more of them. Today there are eight main problems. Let's consider the global problems of humanity and ways to solve them.
Ecological problem
Today it is considered the main one. For a long time, people have used the resources given to them by nature irrationally, polluted the environment around them, and poisoned the Earth with a variety of waste - from solid to radioactive. The result was not long in coming - according to the majority of competent researchers, environmental problems in the next hundred years will lead to irreversible consequences for the planet, and therefore for humanity.
There are already countries where this issue has reached a very high level, giving rise to the concept of an ecological crisis area. But a threat looms over the whole world: the ozone layer, which protects the planet from radiation, is being destroyed, the earth’s climate is changing - and humans are unable to control these changes.
Even the most developed country cannot solve the problem alone, so states unite to jointly solve important environmental problems. The main solution is considered to be reasonable use of natural resources and reorganization of everyday life and industrial production so that the ecosystem develops naturally.
Rice. 1. The threatening scale of the environmental problem.
Demographic problem
In the 20th century, when the world's population exceeded six billion, everyone had heard of it. However, in the 21st century the vector has shifted. In short, the essence of the problem now is this: there are fewer and fewer people. A competent policy of family planning and improving the living conditions of each individual will help solve this issue.
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Food problem
This problem is closely related to the demographic one and consists in the fact that more than half of humanity is experiencing acute food shortages. To solve it, we need to more rationally use available resources for food production. Experts see two development paths: intensive, when the biological productivity of existing fields and other lands increases, and extensive, when their number increases.
All global problems of humanity must be solved together, and this is no exception. The food problem arose due to the fact that most people live in unsuitable areas. Combining the efforts of scientists from different countries will significantly speed up the solution process.
Energy and raw materials problem
The uncontrolled use of raw materials has led to the depletion of mineral reserves that have been accumulating for hundreds of millions of years. Very soon, fuel and other resources may disappear altogether, so scientific and technological progress is being introduced at all stages of production.
The problem of peace and disarmament
Some scientists believe that in the very near future it may happen that there will be no need to look for possible ways to solve humanity’s global problems: people are producing such an amount of offensive weapons (including nuclear weapons) that at some point they can destroy themselves. To prevent this from happening, world treaties on arms reduction and demilitarization of economies are being developed.
Human health problem
Humanity continues to suffer from deadly diseases. The progress of science is great, but diseases that cannot be cured still exist. The only solution is to continue scientific research in search of cures.
The problem of using the World Ocean
The depletion of land resources has led to increased interest in the World Ocean - all countries that have access to it use it not only as a biological resource. Both the mining and chemical sectors are actively developing. Which gives rise to two problems at once: pollution and uneven development. But how are these issues resolved? Currently, they are being studied by scientists from all over the world, who are developing principles of rational ocean environmental management.
Rice. 2. Industrial station in the ocean.
The problem of space exploration
To explore outer space, it is important to join forces on a global scale. The latest research is the result of consolidation of work from many countries. This is precisely the basis for solving the problem.
Scientists have already developed a model of the first station for settlers on the Moon, and Elon Musk says that the day is not far off when people will go to explore Mars.
Rice. 3. Layout of the lunar base.
What have we learned?
Humanity has many global problems that can ultimately lead to its death. These problems can only be solved if efforts are consolidated; otherwise, the efforts of one or more countries will be reduced to zero. Thus, civilizational development and the solution of problems of a universal scale are possible only if the survival of man as a species becomes higher than economic and state interests.
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Introduction
“The best way to get rid of a problem is to solve it” (B. Francis).
One of the higher levels of problems is the problems of the world economy as a whole, or, as it can be called otherwise, geo-economics (from the Latin “geo” - “earth”). These problems include, of course, the development of international trade and international financial relations, but are not limited to them. There are a number of key problems, the significance of which humanity felt especially acutely in the 20th century. and which will greatly influence the life of humanity in the 21st century.
1.The concept of globalization. Reasons for its appearance The process of transforming humanity into a single world community is designated by the term “globalization”. This term comes from the English word globe - globe and immediately indicates its Anglo-American origin. Indeed, it is the English-speaking United States of America that is the country that is considered the initiator and leader of the globalization process. For a century now, the United States has been offering the world an economic strategy called the “open door policy.” The Americans, having successfully developed their economy and produced a huge variety of goods, are interested in selling them all over the world. Therefore, they strive to ensure that other countries allow American goods into their markets without customs duties and tariffs. In other words, so that “doors are open” everywhere for American goods. In turn, the Americans themselves are ready to provide other countries with the most favorable conditions for trade in their own market. Today's world has truly turned into a single trading platform on which different countries have the opportunity to compete. Modern delivery means make it possible to quickly transfer any goods from manufacturer to consumer. Electronic payment systems provide instant transfers of any amount of money in the required form of currency to pay for purchases and sales of goods. And the presence of several major currencies (US dollar, EU euro, British pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc) makes such calculations even simpler. The trade and economic rapprochement of states over the past half century has required the strengthening of the international political order, as well as the establishment of a generally recognized system of international law. Such a system began to take shape immediately after the end of World War II, when in October 1945. The United Nations (UN) was created. At that time, the world began to decompose into two ideologically hostile camps - the socialist one, led by the USSR, and the capitalist one, led by the USA. There was also the so-called “third world,” which consisted of countries that were not directly adjacent to any of the warring camps. The political world was not united, but nevertheless, a relatively unified system of international law was created and effectively maintained. The collapse of the socialist camp and the collapse of the USSR significantly changed the political situation in the world. The ideological reasons for the global military-political conflict have disappeared. Many previously closed borders have opened. People from different countries began to communicate much more often and learn about each other through direct contacts and modern means of mass communication. All corners of the world have become much more accessible and closer to the inhabitants of the planet than half a century ago. 2.Global problems 2.1 Threat of global economic collapse The list of man-made and economic threats, unfortunately, is much wider. The global economy and the global communications system mean that economic turmoil in major countries will now become a problem for all of humanity. The collapse of the US dollar, caused by the too rapid growth of foreign borrowing by the United States government, would immediately affect the rest of the world, where the dollar plays the role of a reserve currency. US investors invest huge amounts of money in the economies of almost all countries, and any crisis in the Chinese economy due to its “overheating” will immediately affect the consumer markets of the US, Europe and Asia. A failure in the system of energy exports from Russia will collapse the European economy, and in the future it will also affect the “health” of the economic systems of China and the United States. It turns out that the main countries find themselves in too close mutual dependence. It is no coincidence that the economic crises of the 90s. last century were called diseases (for example, “Asian flu”). Just as a virus can harm the health of billions of people, an economic crisis can bring down the now global economy. An economy without borders has more opportunities, but the risks are significantly higher. The number of users of international payment systems, the Internet, and cellular communications is growing rapidly. At the same time, the possibility of malfunctions in their operation and the deliberate spread of viruses that can disable electronic systems also increases. Modern humanity is unlikely to be able to cope with a massive electronic catastrophe, when billions of electronic devices and communications begin to fail simultaneously. 2 Dependence on technology and energy supply Accidents in electrical networks that seem banal at first glance can paralyze the lives of tens of millions of people today. Large-scale power outages in cities and industrial centers were observed in California (USA), Japan, and Western Europe. During such a power outage in early November 2006. Several countries, located on two continents - Europe and Africa, became victims of the energy disaster. The world is indeed becoming technologically unified, but states also suffer together in the event of man-made disasters. We are dependent on old and new electronic mechanisms, and the more of them there are, the higher the risk of accidents. The number of technical innovations and various vehicles is growing. It is not surprising that the number of train and plane crashes is also increasing. And it’s not even a matter of wear and tear on the mechanisms. There is so much technology and it is so complex that it is becoming more and more difficult to manage it. In the future, there may also be a threat of computers taking over control of humanity. This theme is actively used in popular action films (for example, in “The Terminator” computers themselves start a nuclear war with the aim of destroying humanity, and in “The Matrix” they turn people into sleeping sources of energy, creating a virtual world for their consciousness). Such films still seem like fantasy, but still such a prospect cannot be completely discounted. Let us try to imagine ourselves without a computer, TV and mobile phone, and we will understand how great our dependence on technology is, although sometimes we don’t even feel it. 2.3 Demographic challenge In Russia, the fall in the birth rate is combined with high mortality among the adult population, especially among men, and the lack of experience of mass immigration (until now, all the main migration flows went mainly from Russia to the outside, and not from the outside world to Russia). A phenomenon arose, known to demographers as the “Russian cross”: two curves crossed - a fall in the birth rate and an increase in mortality. As a result, the birth rate does not compensate for the population decline due to high mortality. And this is happening in a situation where the population of the countries - our neighbors in the South and East - is constantly growing. Why does the demographic situation cause such concern that it can be considered a threat to the future of the country? There are several reasons why demographics are so important. Even after the collapse of the USSR, Russia remains the largest country on the planet, occupying one-seventh of the world's landmass. The vastness of our territory and the severity of the climate explain why Russia, with the exception of its European part, is so sparsely populated. Its population density is tens of times less than in Europe, America or China. But when there are many countries on the planet with an excess population that are not able to feed their citizens, our territory begins to be considered by many of them as a “natural reserve” for mass immigration, and in fact, colonization without taking our opinion into account. The population decline also significantly worsens the economic situation: there is a shortage of labor in the labor market, enterprises are forced to artificially limit their development due to a lack of workers, engineers, and managers. Already by 2015 According to various forecasts, the number of recruits capable of serving in the Russian army will be reduced by almost half compared to today, with a corresponding negative impact on the country’s defense capability. The relative increase in the number of older Russians with a reduction in the share of youth increases the financial burden on the state budget. If previously several workers supported one pensioner, then in the near future, it is quite possible that one worker will have to support several pensioners. This will require a sharp increase in the tax burden on the economy or radical reform of the pension system, including raising the retirement age. Maybe we and our children will retire not at 55 (women) and 60 (men) years old, as now, but at 60-65 or even 65-70 years old. An aging population is increasing pressure on the healthcare system, which is clearly not coping with its responsibilities. All developed countries, trying to cope with the demographic crisis, attract migrants from abroad. Russia is also following this path. However, immigrants, while solving certain economic problems of their new homeland, in turn create new problems. These include intense competition for jobs between “old-timers” and “newcomers” and the inability of the state to ensure the linguistic and cultural integration of newcomers. The “quality” of the immigration flow also matters. Russia is interested in having qualified, educated and able-bodied native speakers of the Russian language and culture come to us for permanent residence, expecting to find their new homeland here and ready to integrate into our society. Instead, the influx of immigrants today mainly increases pressure on the already worn-out social and infrastructure systems of capitals and millionaire cities. According to forecasts, the natural population decline in Russia in the first half of the 21st century. will continue. According to calculations by the UN demographic services, in 2050. The population of our country will be just over 121 million people. As a result, Russia may move from 8th place in the world in terms of population to 14th. Of course, this is just one of the forecasts, and it is not at all obvious that it will come true. Russia can neutralize the demographic threat to its future if it stops the fall in the birth rate and the increase in mortality; will create opportunities for a comfortable and safe life for its citizens; organizes immigration policy in such a way that it will contribute to strengthening its economy, and not to the formation of new crisis situations in the social and political spheres. 2.4 Raw materials and food threat The extensive development of humanity makes the issue of resource provision relevant. At one time, the economist T. Malthus came to the conclusion: there are not enough resources for all of humanity. Malthusianism in various forms is still popular today. Its modified form natural resources. This means that another 5.5 billion people are doomed to lack something, especially fuel or drinking water. It is oil, gas and water that should be recognized as the main types of resources for modern society. Detailed concepts have a weak evidence base. Strange as it may seem, the reserves of resources on our planet are quite significant, especially since there are still a number of little-studied zones such as Antarctica. Finally, with the development of technology, mining on nearby planets also does not seem like an absolutely fantastic prospect. However, it is impossible to deny the fact of uneven consumption of resources in different regions of the globe. And this also creates certain threats. Thus, oil and gas consumption is growing at a much faster rate than their production. According to research by the International Energy Agency, more than $20 trillion will need to be invested in this sector to provide the world with energy until 2030. The situation with fresh water is no better. Globally, water consumption has increased sixfold over the past 100 years and will double by 2050. Water crises, long considered a problem for the poorest countries, are now affecting the richest countries. Large cities will not have enough water, and Europe is increasingly being overwhelmed by waves of immigrants from drought-plagued Africa. But with the right investment policy, it is possible to provide the world with energy resources. It is also possible to solve the problem with fresh water, for example, by transporting icebergs to places of consumption and sharply reducing the cost of desalination technologies, which will make it possible to use water from the seas and oceans. It is much more dangerous if the topic of shortage of energy resources or fresh water is used to implement a strategy of energy dominance. In particular, when one of the countries tries to concentrate its control over the main centers of oil and gas production, then distributing them among consumers and dictating its will to them. Western countries are ready to act in this capacity, actively developing the topic of concentration of hydrocarbon resources in the hands of “undemocratic” regimes. In essence, this is about an alleged attempt at blackmail on the part of countries with large hydrocarbon reserves. As you know, Russia is one of them. According to the Russian government, Russia's share in world oil reserves is 10-12%, and in gas reserves - 32%. Here you can add 17% of the world's coal reserves, 30% of iron, 22% of forests, 20% of fresh water reserves. The conclusion is clear: to ensure a “fair” distribution of resources, it is necessary to violate the sovereignty of a number of countries over their mineral resources. In essence, we are talking about the right of a number of Western countries to interfere in the development of mineral resources in the territories of those states that they recognize as “undemocratic”. It is no coincidence that it is Western experts who regularly publish reports predicting an impending catastrophe that will occur due to a lack of oil or water. And this is usually blamed on those countries that have reserves sufficient not only for their own consumption, but also for export. From the point of view of global security, the scenario of confrontation between sellers and consumers of oil and gas is fraught with serious consequences. So the resource threat to humanity is most likely associated with political difficulties and lack of agreement between importers and exporters of resources. The issue of developing the resources of those regions of the Earth that are recognized as the property of all humanity is also political. For the same reason, it is not entirely clear how the development of Antarctica will be carried out. In the future, questions will also arise regarding the political conditions for the colonization of nearby planets. 2.5 Place and role of Russia - economic challenge Thanks to market transformation, today the Russian economy is much more competitive on a global scale than the Soviet one. However, the years of crisis did not pass without leaving a trace. Our economy has accumulated many imbalances and problems that, under certain circumstances, can undermine Russia’s well-being. Only constant economic growth can ensure their solution. And taking into account the fact that other countries are also not standing still, only maintaining high rates of development will not allow us to be thrown into the margins of the world economy. In order for Russia to take a leading position in the difficult conditions of global competition, we must grow faster than the rest of the world. It is often said that a “raw materials curse” hangs over our economy, that we would supposedly live better if there weren’t so many natural resources in our depths. I wonder why this does not interfere with the United States, Canada, Great Britain or Norway? The question is not how to “get rid” of the resources given to us by nature and history, but how to use them most beneficially for our country and its future. Already now, the raw materials sectors of the Russian economy mainly use the products of domestic mechanical engineering. As for the likelihood of Russian companies quickly depleting domestic natural resources, this danger will be neutralized in the event of the timely development and implementation of new technologies for more efficient production. In addition, our energy companies must not be limited only to the development of domestic fields, but over time turn into transnational ones operating throughout the globe. From the point of view of the future of the Russian economy, other pain points are much more important than the “raw materials curse”. Our economy is not very susceptible to the achievements of scientific and technological progress. A significant part of enterprises practically does not invest funds either in the creation of new technologies or in the modernization of old ones. There is no national innovation system similar to those in the USA, Japan, and Western Europe. Meanwhile, Russian scientists, their scientific results and high technologies are in great demand abroad. They are fully competitive. Entire scientific areas and schools are supported by grants from world research centers and international concerns. But we ourselves use only a little of the rich scientific and technical potential that Russia possesses. Another pain point is related to the weakness of government mechanisms for stimulating economic growth. The long-term economic growth of the United States in the postwar era relied heavily on the development of the nation's road infrastructure that took place in the 1930s. as part of the public works system organized by President F. D. Roosevelt. And the industrialization of the 1930s. in the USSR was based on the GOELRO plan for electrification of the country, developed on behalf of Lenin in the early 1920s. For now, the Russian economy exists on the infrastructure that was created back in the USSR. But it is gradually being exhausted, while there is virtually no new reserve left. And if we do not create a dynamic information-type economy capable of constant self-development, this will in the near future lead to the failure of Russians’ hopes for a decent and comfortable life in their Fatherland. The most educated, qualified and in demand of our compatriots will leave their country, heading to where the best conditions have been created for their self-realization. This will further weaken Russia’s human potential, its competitiveness and defense capabilities, which threatens to turn our country into a “third world” state devoid of development prospects. 6 The threat of international terrorism. Military and terrorist challenges globalization man-made economic terrorism The vulnerabilities of modern civilization can be exploited by terrorist structures, which themselves increasingly resemble viruses, since they do not have a clear geographical localization and formal structure. The modern world provides online terrorist organizations with enormous opportunities to destabilize the situation. These are not only explosions of buildings and communications, terrorist attacks using aircraft (as has already happened in Russia, Europe and the USA), but also electronic terrorism and cyber terrorism (hacker attacks on telecommunications, banking, payment and exchange systems), attacks on the life support systems of large cities, the use of biological and chemical weapons, and finally, nuclear terrorism. The spread of biological or chemical weapons in large cities (for example, through the water supply system) is fraught with enormous casualties. The consequences of terrorist attacks at nuclear power plants can be monstrous. Therefore, the governments of leading countries are paying increased attention to the fight against terrorism, trying to unite their efforts. All types of terrorism are equally dangerous - ethnic, religious, social terrorism can bring colossal suffering to people. We should not forget about new types of political threats. It will become possible to build a global dictatorial regime, the need for which will be justified by the utmost concentration of people's efforts to solve the problems of global threats that call into question the survival of humanity. This could be the fight against terrorism, the fight for the environment (ecological totalitarianism) or even the fight against space aliens. Modern capabilities for tracking a person are truly unique, which gives rise to the temptation of total control over his activities on a planetary scale under various plausible pretexts. For example, in modern London there is already one security camera for every 14 people on average. In many ways, this, like the violation of human rights to free movement, privacy of correspondence and telephone conversations, and privacy of personal life, is explained by the need to combat terrorism. In the future, other motives may appear. The world of the early 21st century. - this is a world of increasingly frequent military conflicts on an interstate and intrastate scale, a world of borderless war between international terrorists and the world community of nations. And although the likelihood of a military attack on Russia today is not great, it may increase if our country weakens and seems compliant and easy prey. In this case, the external threat may merge with the threat of armed separatism, fueled and fueled from the outside. And Russia has been waging a continuous war against international terrorist networks for many years. Russia’s task, if it wants to maintain strategic nuclear parity with the United States and ensure its invulnerability in the face of the strongest power in the modern world, is to modernize existing and develop new types of missile and nuclear weapons capable of penetrating missile defense systems. Constant combat readiness of the Armed Forces is the most important requirement of modern warfare. The Soviet army was built on the principle of a mass mobilization army: in the event of a military danger, citizens of military age who had previously undergone military training replenished units and formations. Thus, it took a lot of time to bring the army into combat readiness. The new military situation in the world requires the presence of units and forces of constant readiness, capable of moving to a selected point in the country or planet in the shortest possible time without replenishment, entering into battle and completing the assigned task. To reliably protect such a huge territory that Russia owns, you must either have a multimillion-strong army, or be able to move very quickly, outpacing the enemy, wherever he intends to attack us. The Soviet leadership took the first path: the largest army in the world was created. Ultimately, the overstrain of the national economy and the diversion of too much productive force for military needs undermined the Soviet economy. To prevent such a fate from befalling Russia, it needs mobile phones, i.e. highly mobile, Armed forces. Due to mobility, it is possible to compensate for the smaller size of the army than before. At the moment of Russia's greatest weakness, in the mid- and late 1990s, the United States actively promoted the idea of establishing international (and in fact American) control over our nuclear forces, ostensibly in order to protect them from unauthorized use by terrorists, extremists and the mafia. If this idea were implemented, the state independence and territorial integrity of our country could always be forgotten. Today we have become significantly stronger than we were seven to ten years ago, and such scenarios seem absurd and fantastic. But any weakening of Russia gives our competitors a reason to try to disarm it, deprive it of sovereignty, and impose their will on it. In order not to become the “sick man of Eurasia” of the 21st century, Russia needs its own - powerful and modern - Armed forces that guarantee its sovereignty and national security. 2.7 Social challenge One of the most acute problems for Russia is the problem of injustice in the current distribution of social wealth, when mass poverty coexists with a small number of huge fortunes, and there are no ways of enrichment and advancement on the social ladder that are morally approved by the majority of the nation. Society is morally divided; a significant part of it considers the principles of distribution of national income to be unfair and demands that the state radically change them. We have not yet formed a middle class, which numerically dominates in the developed countries of the West and East and gives stability to their societies. Social structure of Russia in the first decade of the 21st century: · the upper class makes up no more than 2-3% of the population; · middle social strata (prototype of the middle class) do not exceed 20-25% of the population; · half of Russians are the layer whose well-being only slightly exceeds the officially recognized poverty level; · about a quarter of our compatriots live below the poverty line. Of course, such a social and property structure does not correspond to the ideas of the majority of Russians about a fair and humane society. Mass poverty certainly represents a step backward even from the structure of Soviet society. At that time, the level of social and property equality, albeit forcibly maintained, and the level of public agreement regarding the justice of such an order were significantly higher than now. Ginny coefficient, i.e. the indicator of property disposal between the richest 10% and the poorest 10% of Russians reaches 14 times (and in Moscow it reaches 41 times) and does not show a downward trend. Such deep stratification is observed only in the most backward countries of Africa and Asia. Such a gap between rich and poor constantly gives rise to social conflicts, political tension, takes away moral strength from society, and increases citizens' distrust of the state, which is unable to ensure social justice. The search for the causes of injustice and ways to eliminate it leads some to longing for the bygone Soviet, socialist statehood, to attempts to artificially revive it; others - to search for the guilty both among large owners and among people of foreign nationalities, to attempts to reprisal against them; Still others are encouraged to withdraw into themselves, become embittered, and abandon all hopes for a better life. These are all extremely unproductive, self-defeating forms of discontent born of mass disillusionment with democratic and market ideals that have failed to provide us with a better life. Rules for climbing the social ladder, i.e. achievements of career, success, public recognition are either incomprehensible to many Russians or seem to them not only difficult to achieve, but also immoral. Sociologists have identified a gap in the understanding of how well our society is structured between representatives of its upper, wealthy parts and the lower, poor parts. Those who have found their place in a changed society are confident that this is a well-deserved reward for their knowledge, intelligence, talent, and personal activity. Those who remained in the lower social strata believe that the whole point is that they lack the necessary connections and financial opportunities, and education, talent, and other personal advantages in our society practically do not help them move forward and upward. This belief is facilitated by the fact that the poor include the majority of public sector workers, people with higher education, high qualifications and work experience. There is reason to believe that over time, the social structure of Russia will straighten out and take on a form more consistent with the standards of the information society. The general economic recovery leads to an improvement in the socio-economic situation of the majority of Russians. The state, through budgetary mechanisms, strengthens financial support for those whose well-being depends directly on the government - pensioners, public sector employees, civil servants, military personnel, beneficiaries. But there are also many who rely only on themselves and are capable of independently solving their life problems in favorable socio-economic conditions. It is they who can form the basis of the domestic mass middle class. We are not talking about new social guarantees and benefits for them, but about a social order that would allow the majority of citizens to provide themselves with a decent life. Without this, both social peace and democracy in Russia will remain a pipe dream for a long time. 2.8 Preservation of sovereignty and independence in Russia Today, the collapse of the attempt to build a unipolar world undertaken by the United States is already obvious, which has resulted in a worldwide increase in dissatisfaction with American policies and a sharp increase in the number of military and political conflicts compared to the Cold War period. It is unrealistic to solve one’s internal, socio-economic problems without reliable protection of the state, which is provided by combat-ready, technically equipped and modern Armed Forces. We must protect our country from any form of military-political pressure and potential external aggression. Therefore, the most important task remains the modernization of our Armed Forces, including equipping strategic nuclear forces with the most modern strategic weapons systems. Unipolarity and those who strive for it deny the supremacy of international law, guarantees of state sovereignty of the world, and assert the priority of brute force over law. This order, presented as a response to the threat of global terrorism, ignores other threats to global development: the deepening gap between rich and poor countries, the non-use of modern technologies in the interests of the majority of the world population, the desperate poverty of many countries and entire regions of the world. It is possible to solve all these problems only if the political architecture of the world is restructured on a more equal and just basis. Russia must take an active part in this restructuring. The political aspect of the geopolitical and civilizational mission of our country in the 21st century. - active assistance in creating a fair world order that excludes the possibility of dictatorship from a single superpower. An alternative to this should be effective joint management of world problems by the world's largest "poles", one of which, of course, is Russia. And our country can achieve this only in equal cooperation with a uniting Europe, dynamically growing China and India, Japan intensifying its participation in world politics, and such fast-growing powers of the Latin American continent as Brazil. 3.Mission of Russia in the 21st century The preservation, development and dissemination of the unique Russian culture and the Russian language is a cultural aspect of Russia's civilizational mission. Our country is a home for everyone who cherishes the fate of the Fatherland, its values and culture, who is faithful to the laws of our country, its traditions of interethnic peace and harmony. Immigration legislation should include requirements for cultural integration, guarantees against violation of public morality and the creation of closed ethnic entities. It should exclude any possibility of providing Russian citizenship or receiving social benefits for those who entered the country illegally. The moral duty of our country and an effective means of its foreign policy is to actively support Russianphony - love for Russia and Russian culture. It is necessary to support by legal and economic means the active use of the Russian language in everyday communication, social and economic circulation throughout the post-Soviet space. It is necessary to give a new impetus to relations with the Russian diaspora around the world, to use the knowledge, experience, connections, and technologies accumulated by it for the revival of the Fatherland. Preserving the unique natural diversity of Russia is the ecological aspect of our civilizational mission in the 21st century. The value of all, even the most seemingly insignificant, components of the environment is constantly increasing. We still don’t know everything about the relationships in nature and very rarely can we predict the consequences of projects that change the face of the planet. Economic priorities that seem important relative to the cost of currently wasted resources. A textbook example is the fate of platinum, a precious metal discovered by the Spaniards in the 16th century. At first, platinum was obtained as a by-product of the extraction of other metals and, not seeing any value in it, was thrown away or even drowned - the Spaniards considered gold and silver much more valuable. Now the price of platinum is many times higher than the cost of both. Wouldn't it turn out that today we are destroying something that tomorrow will become simply priceless? After the Chernobyl disaster, it became clear to everyone that environmental issues are no longer an internal matter for each country, but a common concern. Half a century ago, no one knew about the “greenhouse effect” and the ozone hole, but today these are the most important problems, solutions for which the world community is trying to find. Another example is the growing shortage of fresh water in the world. Already, its shortage is causing acute interstate conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia. And the rapid shallowing of the Amur and Irtysh in connection with the hydraulic engineering and economic activity of the Chinese authorities is a constant subject of friction and negotiations between Russia and the PRC. But on the territory of Russia there is Baikal - the world's largest reservoir of fresh water. Who would have thought that in a few decades Russia’s most important natural resource might not be oil and gas at all, but fresh water reserves? But, most likely, everything will be exactly like this. The giant forests of Siberia are even more valuable - this is the “right lung” of the planet (the “left lung” is formed by the Amazon forests in Brazil). Russia's mission is to protect these unique natural resources, which guarantee the preservation of the ecological balance on the planet and the possibility of human survival in conditions of interesting economic development. Having considered the challenges that the global world poses to our country, and having identified the tasks that are offered to us, we can draw a final conclusion: Russia is the most important part of the global world. Its preservation and strengthening is a prerequisite for stability, peace and human development. Therefore, by successfully solving our problems, we contribute to global well-being. Conclusion Along with the problems of the functioning of individual markets for resources and goods, as well as the national economy as a whole, each country has to participate in one way or another in solving global economic problems. The first of these problems is the huge differences in living standards between the richest and poorest countries in the world. The growing disparity is coupled with the inability of the poorest countries to increase their GNP faster than their population grows. The huge difference in living standards has both economic and political consequences and leads to increased tension in the world. Therefore, in the 21st century. humanity will have to make enormous efforts to prevent a global economic catastrophe, fraught with the death of tens of millions of people from hunger and epidemics. It can only be prevented by accelerating scientific and technological progress, improving economic systems in poor countries of the world and reducing military spending and then using the saved funds for economic development.
Global Problems humanity - problems characteristic of all humanity, posing a threat to its existence and further development. Global problems can only be overcome through the efforts of all humanity.
Scientists and experts name a number of major global problems, such as environmental conservation, the threat of wars and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, international terrorism, growing contradictions between economically developed and developing countries, social inequality, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and crime (especially in weakly developed countries). developed countries), conflicts in society. The problems of protecting health, preventing the spread of AIDS and drug addiction are becoming increasingly important.
Pollution and lack of natural resources
Primitive people began to cause noticeable damage to nature, using fire to corral animals and burn vegetation to cultivate the soil. Social progress not only improved the means of satisfying human needs, but also led to a constant increase in the number of new needs; man influenced nature more and more intensely. It is in our time that accumulated local problems have turned into global ones.
The more comfortable human life became and the advances in medicine, the more people were added to the planet, and the number of needs that needed to be satisfied in society increased. To do this, it is necessary to strengthen the industry and extract minerals, which are not limitless. As a result, man has polluted the planet so much that it has become dangerous for people, animals, and plants to live on it.
Soil pollution leads to the fact that toxic substances are absorbed by humans along with food and water. Air pollution with toxic emissions causes various diseases.
Demographic problems and contradictions between rich and poor countries
The accelerated growth of the planet's population of 7 billion has led the world to a global demographic problem. Its essence lies in the uncontrolled growth of the Earth's population, on the one hand, and the constant decrease in the share of the population of economically developed countries in the total world population, on the other. This means that the population of developed countries is aging. That is, the growth of the world population is due to poor countries (for example, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Congo, etc.), where the majority of the world's population lives. They have many problems: food shortages, a growing gap in living standards between the poor and the rich, periodic mass hunger, regular armed conflicts, outbreaks of diseases and epidemics, crime and terrorism.
The threat of wars and nuclear proliferation
Today, so many nuclear weapons alone have been accumulated that their explosive power is several thousand times greater than the power of the ammunition used in all wars fought before. These weapons can destroy life on Earth many dozens of times.
International terrorism
Acts of international terrorism include brutality, senseless killings, hostage-taking, city bombings, hijackings, extortion, and the use or threat of torture for political purposes.
The wave of terrorist attacks that have recently swept across the planet has confirmed that terrorism has no borders (the attack on the World Trade Center buildings in New York, the seizure of a school in Beslan, explosions in the Moscow metro, terrorist attacks in Norway, Ukraine, etc.) . In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear that the fight against terrorism is not a problem of any individual state, but of the entire world community. After all, terrorists, while continuing to commit their atrocities in various parts of the planet, are not just challenging humanity. Essentially, they started a war against the entire world community. A war without rules, brutal, in which civilians become victims, including women, children, and the elderly. At the international level, a number of documents have been adopted aimed at combating international terrorism, including the “Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism” (1994); the UN Security Council established the Counter-Terrorism Committee.
Global Problems humanity - problems characteristic of all humanity, posing a threat to its existence and further development. Global problems can only be overcome through the efforts of all humanity.
Scientists and experts name a number of major global problems, such as environmental conservation, the threat of wars and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, international terrorism, growing contradictions between economically developed and developing countries, social inequality, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and crime (especially in weakly developed countries). developed countries), conflicts in society. The problems of protecting health, preventing the spread of AIDS and drug addiction are becoming increasingly important.
Pollution and lack of natural resources
Primitive people began to cause noticeable damage to nature, using fire to corral animals and burn vegetation to cultivate the soil. Social progress not only improved the means of satisfying human needs, but also led to a constant increase in the number of new needs; man influenced nature more and more intensely. It is in our time that accumulated local problems have turned into global ones.
The more comfortable human life became and the advances in medicine, the more people were added to the planet, and the number of needs that needed to be satisfied in society increased. To do this, it is necessary to strengthen the industry and extract minerals, which are not limitless. As a result, man has polluted the planet so much that it has become dangerous for people, animals, and plants to live on it.
Soil pollution leads to the fact that toxic substances are absorbed by humans along with food and water. Air pollution with toxic emissions causes various diseases.
Demographic problems and contradictions between rich and poor countries
The accelerated growth of the planet's population of 7 billion has led the world to a global demographic problem. Its essence lies in the uncontrolled growth of the Earth's population, on the one hand, and the constant decrease in the share of the population of economically developed countries in the total world population, on the other. This means that the population of developed countries is aging. That is, the growth of the world population is due to poor countries (for example, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Congo, etc.), where the majority of the world's population lives. They have many problems: food shortages, a growing gap in living standards between the poor and the rich, periodic mass hunger, regular armed conflicts, outbreaks of diseases and epidemics, crime and terrorism.
The threat of wars and nuclear proliferation
Today, so many nuclear weapons alone have been accumulated that their explosive power is several thousand times greater than the power of the ammunition used in all wars fought before. These weapons can destroy life on Earth many dozens of times.
International terrorism
Acts of international terrorism include brutality, senseless killings, hostage-taking, city bombings, hijackings, extortion, and the use or threat of torture for political purposes.
The wave of terrorist attacks that have recently swept across the planet has confirmed that terrorism has no borders (the attack on the World Trade Center buildings in New York, the seizure of a school in Beslan, explosions in the Moscow metro, terrorist attacks in Norway, Ukraine, etc.) . In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear that the fight against terrorism is not a problem of any individual state, but of the entire world community. After all, terrorists, while continuing to commit their atrocities in various parts of the planet, are not just challenging humanity. Essentially, they started a war against the entire world community. A war without rules, brutal, in which civilians become victims, including women, children, and the elderly. At the international level, a number of documents have been adopted aimed at combating international terrorism, including the “Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism” (1994); the UN Security Council established the Counter-Terrorism Committee.
