One of the global problems of humanity. Causes of global human problems

Introduction

The development of human society has never been a conflict-free, consistent process. Throughout the history of the existence of intelligent life on Earth, questions have invariably arisen, the answers to which forced us to radically reconsider the already familiar ideas about the world and man. All this gave rise to countless problems that faced man most acutely in the second half of the 20th century, when his destructive activities acquired global proportions. Conditions, processes, and phenomena have arisen on our planet that have placed humanity in danger of undermining the very foundations of its existence. The range of problems whose solution ensures the survival of humanity is called the global problems of our time.

The concept of globalization became truly key at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. For the first time in its history, the human race was faced with the possibility of its general destruction. The very existence of life on Earth was called into question, i.e. global problems of humanity cover all countries, the Earth’s atmosphere, the World Ocean and near-Earth space; affect the entire population of the Earth.

A distinctive feature of modern civilization is the increase in global threats and problems. We are talking about the threat of nuclear war, the growth of armaments, the unreasonable waste of natural resources, diseases, hunger, poverty, etc., therefore, the study of the phenomenon of globalization attracts scientists, public and political figures, and representatives of the business world.

The purpose of this work: a comprehensive study and characterization of modern global problems of humanity, as well as the causes of their occurrence.

To do this, we will solve the following problems:

the essence, causes, features of each of the global problems, possible ways to solve them;

possible consequences of the manifestation of global problems at the present stage of development of societies.

The work consists of an introduction to three chapters of the main part, a conclusion, a list of sources used and applications.

1. Modern global problems of humanity

1 Concept, essence, origin and nature of global problems

Second half of the 20th century marked by the processes of globalization. According to the view of most researchers, the main content of the globalization process is the formation of humanity as a single society. In other words, if in the 19th century. Since humanity was still a system of independent societies, then in the 20th century, and especially in its second half, certain signs emerged indicating the formation of a single global civilization.

Globalization is a natural and inevitable process, its basis is internationalization, a high degree of division of labor, the development of high, and above all, information technologies, and the formation of global markets. 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. The problems that have arisen have given rise to a threat that is of a worldwide, planetary nature and is therefore called global.

The importance of global problems especially increased in the second half of the twentieth century, by which time the territorial division of the world was completed, two poles had formed in the world economy: at one pole there were industrialized countries, and at the other there were countries with agrarian and raw materials appendages. The latter were drawn into the international division of labor long before the emergence of national markets there. The world economy formed in this way, even after the former colonies gained independence, preserved the relationship between the center and the periphery for many years. This is where the current global problems and contradictions originate.

Thus, the global problems of our time should be understood as a set of problems on the solution of which the further existence of civilization depends.

Global problems are generated by the uneven development of different areas of life of modern humanity and the contradictions generated in the socio-economic, political-ideological, socio-natural and other relations of people. These problems affect the life of humanity as a whole.

Despite all the diversity and internal differences, global problems have common features:

have acquired a truly planetary, worldwide character, and therefore affect the interests of the peoples of all states;

threaten (if their solution is not found) humanity with either the death of civilization as such, or a serious regression in the further development of productive forces, in the conditions of life itself, in the development of society;

need urgent decisions and actions to overcome and prevent dangerous consequences and threats to the livelihoods and safety of citizens;

For their solution, they require collective efforts and actions on the part of all states and the entire world community.

The global problems of our time are in organic connection and interdependence with each other, forming a single, integral system, characterized by their well-known subordination and hierarchical subordination.

This circumstance allows us to classify these problems on the basis of establishing cause-and-effect relationships between them, as well as taking into account the degree of their severity and, accordingly, the priority of solutions. The main criteria for classifying a problem as global are its scale and the need for joint efforts to eliminate it. According to their origin, nature and methods of solution, global problems, according to the accepted international classification, are divided into 3 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 technological progress in the interests of harmonious social development and the elimination of the negative impact of technology on people, 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, i.e. 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.

Note that the above classification is relative, because various groups of global problems taken together form a single, extremely complex, multifactorial system in which all components are interconnected.

The scale, location and role of individual global problems are changing. Until recently, the struggle to preserve peace and disarmament occupied a leading place; now the environmental problem has taken first place.

Changes are also taking place within global problems: some of their components lose their former significance and new ones appear. Thus, in the problem of the struggle for peace and disarmament, the main emphasis began to be placed on the reduction of means of mass destruction, the non-proliferation of mass weapons, the development and implementation of measures for the conversion of military production; in the fuel and raw materials problem, a real possibility has arisen of the depletion of a number of non-renewable natural resources, and in the demographic problem, new tasks have arisen associated with a significant expansion of international migration of the population, labor resources, etc. It is also necessary to take into account that global problems do not arise somewhere nearby with pre-existing and local problems, but grow organically from them.

2 Contemporary problems caused by globalization

In the scientific literature you can find various lists of global problems, where their number varies from 8-10 to 40-45. This is explained by the fact that, along with the main, priority global problems (which will be discussed further in the textbook), there are a number of more specific, but also very important problems: for example, crime, drug addiction, separatism, democratic deficit, man-made disasters, natural disasters, etc. .

In modern conditions, the main global problems include:

The North-South problem is a problem of economic relations between developed countries and developing countries. Its essence is that in order to bridge the gap in the levels of socio-economic development between developed and developing countries, the latter require various concessions from developed countries, in particular, expanding access for their goods to the markets of developed countries, increasing the influx of knowledge and capital (especially in the form assistance), debt write-off and other measures in relation to them. The backwardness of developing countries is potentially dangerous not only at the local level, but also for the global economic system as a whole. The backward South is its integral part and, therefore, its economic, political and social problems will inevitably find and are already finding manifestation outside. Concrete evidence of this can be, for example, large-scale forced migration from developing countries to developed ones, as well as the spread in the world of both new and previously considered infectious diseases. That is why the North-South problem can be rightfully interpreted as one of the global problems of our time.

The problem of poverty is one of the main global problems. Poverty refers to the inability to provide the simplest and most affordable living conditions for most people in a given country. Large levels of poverty, especially in developing countries, pose a serious threat not only to national but also to global sustainable development. According to World Bank estimates, the total number of poor people, i.e. There are 2.5-3 billion people living on less than $2 a day in the world. Including the total number of people living in extreme poverty (less than $1 a day) - 1-1.2 billion people. In other words, 40-48% of the world's population are poor, and 16-19% are ultra-poor. Most of the poor are concentrated in rural areas of developing countries. In some developing countries, the problem of poverty has long reached critical levels. For example, at the beginning of the 21st century. 76% of the population of Zambia, 71% of Nigeria, 61% of Madagascar, 58% of Tanzania, 54% of Haiti are forced to live on less than $1 a day. What makes the global problem of poverty especially acute is that many developing countries, due to low income levels, do not yet have sufficient opportunities to alleviate the problem of poverty. This is why broad international support is required to eliminate pockets of poverty.

The world food problem lies in the inability of humanity to date to fully provide itself with vital food products. This problem appears in practice as a problem of absolute food shortage (malnutrition and hunger) in the least developed countries, as well as nutritional imbalance in developed countries. Over the past 50 years, significant progress has been made in food production - the number of undernourished and hungry people has almost halved. At the same time, a large part of the world's population still experiences food shortages. The number of people in need exceeds 850 million people, i.e. Every seventh person experiences absolute food shortages. More than 5 million children die every year from the consequences of starvation. Its solution will largely depend on the effective use of natural resources, scientific and technological progress in agriculture and the level of government support.

The global energy problem is the problem of providing humanity with fuel and energy now and in the foreseeable future. The main reason for the global energy problem should be considered the rapid increase in the consumption of mineral fuels in the 20th century. On the supply side, it is caused by the discovery and exploitation of huge oil and gas fields in Western Siberia, Alaska, and on the North Sea shelf, and on the demand side, by an increase in the vehicle fleet and an increase in the production of polymer materials. The increase in the production of fuel and energy resources has entailed a serious deterioration in the environmental situation (expansion of open-pit mining, offshore mining, etc.). And the growing demand for these resources has increased competition both between countries exporting fuel resources for the best sales conditions, and between importing countries for access to energy resources. At the same time, there is a further increase in mineral fuel resources. Under the influence of the energy crisis, large-scale geological exploration activities intensified, leading to the discovery and development of new energy deposits. Accordingly, the availability of the most important types of mineral fuel has also increased: it is believed that at the current level of production, proven coal reserves should last for 325 years, natural gas for 62 years, and oil for 37 years. If developed countries are now solving this problem, first of all, by slowing down the growth of their demand by reducing energy intensity, then in other countries there is a relatively rapid increase in energy consumption. Added to this may be growing competition in the global energy market between developed countries and newly large industrialized countries (China, India, Brazil). All these circumstances, combined with military and political instability in some regions, can cause significant fluctuations in the level of world prices for energy resources and seriously affect the dynamics of supply and demand, as well as the production and consumption of energy goods, sometimes creating crisis situations.

The global demographic problem is divided into two aspects: rapid and poorly controlled growth (demographic explosion) of the population of countries and regions of the developing world; demographic aging of the population of developed and transition countries. For the former, the solution is to increase economic growth and reduce population growth. For the second - emigration and reform of the pension system.

Never in the entire history of mankind have the world population growth rates been as high as in the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. During the period from 1960 to 1999, the planet's population doubled (from 3 billion to 6 billion people), and in 2007 it amounted to 6.6 billion people. Although the average annual growth rate of the world's population has decreased from 2.2% in the early 60s. to 1.5% in the early 2000s, the absolute annual growth increased from 53 million to 80 million people. The demographic transition from the traditional (high birth rate - high death rate - low natural increase) to the modern type of population reproduction (low birth rate - low death rate - low natural population growth) was completed in developed countries in the first third of the 20th century, and in most countries with transition economies - in the middle of the last century. At the same time, in the 1950-1960s, a demographic transition began in a number of countries and regions of the rest of the world, which begins to end only in Latin America, East and Southeast Asia and continues in East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle and Middle East. The rapid rate of population growth compared to the rate of socio-economic development in these regions leads to aggravation of problems of employment, poverty, food situation, land issue, low level of education, and deterioration of public health. These countries see the solution to their demographic problem in accelerating economic growth and simultaneously reducing the birth rate (China could be an example). In European countries, Japan and a number of CIS countries since the last quarter of the 20th century. There is a demographic crisis, manifested in slow growth and even natural decline and aging of the population, stabilization or reduction of its working population. Demographic aging (increase in the proportion of the population over 60 years of age to over 12% of the total population, over 65 years of age - over 7%) is a natural process, which is based on advances in medicine, improved quality of life and other factors that contribute to the extension of life of a significant part of the population. population.

For the economies of developed and transition countries, increasing life expectancy has both positive and negative consequences. The first includes the possibility of extending the working life of older citizens beyond the current retirement age threshold. The second includes problems of both material support for elderly and elderly citizens, and their medical and consumer services. The fundamental way out of this situation lies in the transition to a funded pension system, in which the citizen himself is primarily responsible for the size of his pension. As for the aspect of the demographic problem in these countries, such as a reduction in the economically active population, its solution is seen primarily in the influx of immigrants from other countries.

The relationship between population growth and economic growth has long been the subject of research by economists. As a result of research, two approaches to assessing the impact of population growth on economic development have been developed. The first approach is, to one degree or another, associated with the theory of Malthus, who believed that population growth is faster than food growth and therefore the world population is inevitably becoming poorer. The modern approach to assessing the role of population on the economy is comprehensive and identifies both positive and negative factors in the impact of population growth on economic growth. Many experts believe that the real problem is not population growth per se, but the following problems: underdevelopment - underdevelopment; depletion of the world's resources and environmental destruction.

The problem of human development is the problem of matching the qualitative characteristics of the labor force with the nature of the modern economy. Human potential is one of the main types of total economic potential and is distinguished by specific and qualitative characteristics. In the conditions of post-industrialization, the requirements for the physical qualities and especially for the education of the worker increase, including his ability to constantly improve his skills. However, the development of the qualitative characteristics of the labor force in the world economy is extremely uneven. The worst indicators in this regard are demonstrated by developing countries, which, however, act as the main source of replenishment of the world labor force. This is what determines the global nature of the problem of human development.

The problem of disarmament and maintaining peace on Earth. The history of mankind can be viewed as the history of wars. Only in the 20th century. There were two world wars and many local wars (in Korea, Vietnam, Angola, the Middle East and other regions). Only after the Second World War until the beginning of the 21st century. There were more than 40 international and about 90 intrastate conflicts, where tens of millions of people died. Moreover, if in international conflicts the ratio of civilian and military deaths is approximately equal, then in civil and national liberation wars the civilian population dies three times more than the military. And today, dozens of potential international or interethnic conflicts continue to exist on the planet.

The problem of ensuring human safety. Increasing globalization, interdependence and the reduction of time and spatial barriers create a situation of collective insecurity from various threats, from which a person cannot always be saved by his state. This requires the creation of conditions that enhance a person’s ability to independently withstand risks and threats. Over the past two decades, the concept of security has undergone significant revision. Its traditional interpretation as the security of the state (its borders, territory, sovereignty, population and material values) was supplemented by human security (human security).

Human security is a state of people being protected from internal and external threats and risks and freedom from fear and want, which is achieved through the joint and purposeful activities of civil society, the nation state and the international community. The main conditions ensuring human security include: personal freedom; peace and personal security; full participation in management processes; protection of human rights; access to resources and basic necessities of life, including access to health services and education; a natural environment favorable for human life. Creating these conditions involves, firstly, eliminating the root causes or establishing effective control over the sources of threat and, secondly, increasing the ability of each individual to withstand threats. To ensure these conditions, it is possible to use two groups of measures: preventive, or long-term, and immediate, extraordinary. The first group includes activities aimed at overcoming problems that are most often sources of instability and local conflicts. The second set of measures includes activities to resolve ongoing conflicts or post-conflict reconstruction measures and humanitarian assistance.

The problem of the World Ocean is the problem of conservation and rational use of its spaces and resources. The essence of the global problem of the World Ocean lies in the extremely uneven development of the Ocean's resources, in the increasing pollution of the marine environment, and in its use as an arena for military activity. As a result, over the past decades, the intensity of life in the World Ocean has decreased by 1/3. That is why the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted in 1982, which is called the “Charter of the Seas,” is very important. It established economic zones of 200 nautical miles from the coast, within which the coastal state can also exercise sovereign rights to exploit biological and mineral resources. Currently, the World Ocean, as a closed ecological system, can hardly withstand the greatly increased anthropogenic load, and a real threat of its destruction is created. Therefore, the global problem of the World Ocean is, first of all, the problem of its survival. The main way to solve the problem of using the World Ocean is rational oceanic environmental management, a balanced, integrated approach to its wealth, based on the combined efforts of the entire world community. The essence of this problem lies in the difficult finding of ways to optimize the exploitation of the ocean's biological resources.

The environmental situation is currently one of the most acute and difficult to resolve. A feature of our time is the intense and global human impact on the environment, which is accompanied by intense and global negative consequences. Contradictions between man and nature can worsen due to the fact that there is no limit to the growth of human material needs, while the ability of the natural environment to satisfy them is limited. The contradictions in the “man - society - nature” system have acquired a planetary character.

There are two aspects of the environmental problem:

environmental crises arising as a consequence of natural processes;

crises caused by anthropogenic impact and irrational environmental management.

The main problem is the inability of the planet to cope with the waste of human activity, with the function of self-cleaning and repair. The biosphere is being destroyed. Therefore, there is a great risk of self-destruction of humanity as a result of its own life activity.

Nature is influenced in the following ways:

use of environmental components as a resource base for production;

the impact of human production activities on the environment;

demographic pressure on nature (agricultural use of land, population growth, growth of large cities).

Many global problems of humanity are intertwined here - resource, food, demographic - they all have access to environmental issues.

The ecological potential of the world economy is increasingly undermined by human economic activity. The answer to this was the concept of environmentally sustainable development. It involves the development of all countries of the world, taking into account current needs, but not undermining the interests of future generations. The problem of ecology and sustainable development is the problem of stopping the harmful effects of human activities on the environment.

Even in the middle of the last century, ecology was an internal matter of each country, because pollution as a result of industrial activity manifested itself only in areas with a high concentration of environmentally hazardous industries. However, in the second half of the 20th century. The economic impact on nature has reached levels at which it began to lose its ability to self-heal. In the 1990s. The environmental problem has reached a global level, which is manifested in the following negative trends:

the world ecosystem is being destroyed, more and more representatives of flora and fauna are disappearing, upsetting the ecological balance in nature;

More and more large areas of the planet are becoming a zone of environmental disaster;

The most complex and potentially the most dangerous problem is possible climate change, which is expressed in an increase in average temperature, which, in turn, leads to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme natural and climatic events: droughts, floods, tornadoes, sudden thaws and frosts that cause significant economic damage to nature, people and the economies of countries. Climate change is usually associated with an increase in the “greenhouse effect” - an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which get there from the combustion of fuel, associated gas at production sites, on the one hand, and deforestation and land degradation, on the other.

The main consequences of environmental pollution are as follows: harm to human health and farm animals; contaminated areas become unsuitable or even unsuitable for human habitation and their economic activities, and pollution can lead to disruption of the biosphere’s ability to self-purify and its complete destruction. The main directions of exacerbation of the environmental crisis include the withdrawal from land use of saline soils subject to wind and water erosion; excessive use of chemical fertilizers, etc.; increasing chemical impact on food, water, and the human environment; destruction of forests, i.e. everything that in one way or another affects the life and health of people; growing emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere leading to the gradual destruction of the protective ozone layer; rapid growth of waste, proximity to landfills of various industrial and domestic wastes of the human environment.

In principle, the level of environmental pressure can be reduced in three ways: reducing the population; reducing the level of consumption of material goods; making fundamental changes in technology. The first method is, in fact, already being implemented naturally in developed and many transition economies, where the birth rate has decreased significantly; this process is gradually covering an increasing part of the developing world, but the growth of the total world population will continue. Reducing consumption levels is hardly possible, although recently a new consumption structure has emerged in developed countries, in which services and environmentally friendly components and reusable products predominate. Therefore, technologies aimed at preserving the planet’s environmental resources are of paramount importance for the sustainable development of the world economy:

tightening measures to prevent environmental pollution. Today, there are strict international and national regulations regarding the content of harmful substances, for example, in car exhaust gases, which forces automobile companies to produce environmentally less harmful cars. As a result, NOCs, concerned about the negative reaction of their consumers to environmental scandals, strive to follow the principles of sustainable development in all countries where they operate;

creating cost-effective products that can be reused. This makes it possible to reduce the growth in consumption of natural resources;

creation of clean technologies. The problem here is that many industries use outdated technologies that do not meet the needs of sustainable development. For example, in the pulp and paper industry, many production processes are based on the use of chlorine and its compounds, which are one of the most dangerous pollutants, and only the use of biotechnology can change the situation.

The number of global problems is not constant and is growing steadily. As human civilization develops, the understanding of existing global problems changes, their priority is adjusted, and new global problems arise (space exploration, weather and climate control, etc.).

Currently, other global problems are emerging.

The twenty-first century, having just begun, has already added its own problems: international terrorism. In the context of globalization, international terrorism represents the most serious security problem. International terrorism is aimed at undermining the stability of society, destroying borders and usurping territories. The goals of globalization are the same: to achieve influence, power, wealth and redistribution of property at the cost of public or international security.

The social danger of international terrorism is expressed, first of all, in the transnational scale of its activities; expanding its social base; changing the nature and increasing the scope of goals; increasing the severity of the consequences; rapid changes in growth rates and level of organization; in the appropriate material, technical and financial support for its nature.

Thus, the problem of international terrorism poses a real planetary threat to the world community. This problem has its own specificity, which distinguishes it from other universal human difficulties. However, this problem is closely interconnected with most of the global problems of modern international relations, and therefore can be considered as one of the most pressing global problems of our days.

Terrorist acts of recent years, and above all the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in New York, have become unprecedented in the history of mankind in their scale and influence on the further course of world politics. The number of victims, the extent and nature of the destruction caused by terrorist attacks at the beginning of the 21st century were comparable to the consequences of armed conflicts and local wars. The response measures caused by these terrorist acts led to the creation of an international anti-terrorist coalition, which included dozens of states, which previously took place only in the case of major armed conflicts and wars.

Retaliatory anti-terrorist military actions have acquired a planetary scale.

Under these conditions, the global problem of international terrorism cannot be considered only as an independent phenomenon. It began to turn into an important component of a more general military-political global problem related to fundamental issues of war and peace, on the solution of which the further existence of human civilization depends.

In modern conditions, a new, already formed global problem is the exploration of outer space. The urgency of this problem is quite obvious. Human flights in near-Earth orbits have helped us create a true picture of the surface of the Earth, many planets, the terra firma and ocean expanses. They gave a new understanding of the globe as a center of life and an understanding that man and nature are an inextricable whole. Cosmonautics has provided a real opportunity for solving important national economic problems: improving international communication systems, long-term weather forecasting, and developing navigation of sea and air transport. The entry of man into space was an important impetus for the development of both fundamental science and applied research. Modern communication systems, forecasting of many natural disasters, remote exploration of mineral resources are only a small part of what has become a reality thanks to space flights. At the same time, the scale of financial costs necessary for further exploration of outer space today already exceeds the capabilities of not only individual states, but also groups of countries. The extremely expensive components of research are the creation and launch of spacecraft and the maintenance of space stations. Enormous investments are required to implement projects related to the exploration and future development of other planets in the solar system. As a consequence, the interests of space exploration objectively imply broad interstate interaction in this area, the development of large-scale international cooperation in the preparation and conduct of space research.

Emerging global problems currently include the study of the structure of the Earth and the management of weather and climate. Like space exploration, the solution to these two problems is only possible on the basis of broad international cooperation. Moreover, weather and climate management requires, among other things, global harmonization of behavioral norms of business entities in order to universally minimize the harmful impact of economic activity on the environment.

An independent problem on a planetary scale is the problem of man-made disasters that have nothing to do with natural disasters.

One of the most pressing global problems of our time in the scientific literature is identified with the process of urbanization.

According to many scientists, natural phenomena can be identified as an independent global problem of our time.

Another emerging global problem is the problem of suicide (voluntary death). According to open statistics, in most countries of the world the suicide curve is creeping up today, which indicates the global nature of this problem. There is a point of view according to which it is suicide (not drugs, AIDS or road accidents) that is becoming an increasingly common cause of death in peaceful conditions. This is an inevitable payment for the benefits of technological progress in all its manifestations: industrialization, urbanization, acceleration of the pace of life, complications of human relationships and, of course, lack of spirituality.

The concept, essence, classification and ways to solve global problems of our time are clearly shown in the Appendix.

2. Causes of global problems and ways to solve them

An objective prerequisite for the emergence of global problems is the internationalization of economic activity. The global development of labor has led to the interconnectedness of all states. The scale and degree of involvement of various countries and peoples in world economic relations have acquired unprecedented proportions, which has contributed to the development of local, specific problems of development of countries and regions into the category of global ones. All this indicates that there are objective reasons for the emergence of such problems in the modern world that affect the interests of all countries. Contradictions on a global scale are emerging, affecting the foundations of the existence of life on earth.

The UN appeals to all countries: if we want to take the best of globalization and avoid the worst, we must learn to govern better together. These calls could work successfully if most countries were at a sufficiently high level of economic development, and there were not such significant differences in per capita income between countries. The vast inequality in the distribution of wealth in today's world, the miserable conditions in which more than a billion people live, the prevalence of ethnic conflicts in some regions of the world and the rapid deterioration of the natural environment - all these factors combine to make the current development model unsustainable. We can rightfully say that in order to reduce tension on a number of global problems, it is necessary to completely discard the factors of class and political confrontation between social systems and groups of people, and use the principle of spatial institutionality when considering global problems that influence the formation of the world economy.

Thus, the reasons for the emergence of global problems: on the one hand, are 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.

The following ways to solve global problems of our time are identified:

preventing a world war with the use of thermonuclear weapons and other means of mass destruction that threaten the destruction of civilization. This involves curbing the arms race, prohibiting the creation and use of weapons systems of mass destruction, human and material resources, the elimination of nuclear weapons, etc.;

overcoming economic and cultural inequality between the peoples inhabiting the industrialized countries of the West and East and the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America;

overcoming the crisis state of interaction between humanity and nature, which is characterized by catastrophic consequences in the form of unprecedented environmental pollution and depletion of natural resources. This makes it necessary to develop measures aimed at the economical use of natural resources and the reduction of pollution of soil, water and air by waste from material production;

reducing population growth rates in developing countries and overcoming the demographic crisis in developed capitalist countries;

preventing the negative consequences of the modern scientific and technological revolution;

overcoming the downward trend in social health, which involves combating alcoholism, drug addiction, cancer, AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases.

Therefore, the priority global goals of humanity are as follows:

in the political sphere - reducing the likelihood and, in the future, completely eliminating military conflicts, preventing violence in international relations;

in the economic and environmental spheres - the development and implementation of resource- and energy-saving technologies, the transition to non-traditional energy sources, the development and widespread use of environmental technologies;

in the social sphere - improving living standards, global efforts to preserve people's health, creating a global food supply system;

in the cultural and spiritual sphere - the restructuring of mass moral consciousness in accordance with today's realities.

Solving these problems is an urgent task for all of humanity today. The survival of people depends on when and how they begin to be resolved.

Thus, summarizing the above, we note that the global problems of our time are a set of key problems that affect the vital interests of all humanity and require coordinated international actions within the global community for their resolution.

Global problems include the problems of preventing thermonuclear war and ensuring peaceful conditions for the development of all peoples, overcoming the growing gap in economic levels and per capita income between developed and developing countries, problems of eliminating hunger, poverty and illiteracy on the globe, demographic and environmental problems.

A distinctive feature of modern civilization is the increase in global threats and problems. We are talking about the threat of thermonuclear war, the growth of armaments, the unreasonable waste of natural resources, diseases, hunger, poverty, etc.

All global problems of our time can be reduced to three main ones:

the possibility of the destruction of humanity in a global thermonuclear war;

the possibility of a worldwide environmental disaster;

spiritual and moral crisis of humanity.

It is important to note that when solving the third problem, the first two are solved almost automatically. After all, a spiritually and morally developed person will never accept violence either towards another person or towards nature. Even a simply cultured person does not offend others and will never throw garbage on the sidewalk. From little things, from incorrect individual behavior of a person, global problems grow. We can say that global problems are rooted in human consciousness, and until he transforms it, they will not disappear in the outside world.

Conclusion

Thus, global problems are the key problems that confronted all of humanity in the second half of the twentieth century, on the solution of which its existence, preservation and development of civilization depend. These problems, which previously existed as local and regional, have acquired a planetary character in the modern era. Thus, the time of the emergence of global problems coincides with the achievement of the apogee of industrial civilization in its development. This happened approximately in the middle of the 20th century.

Global problems emerged under the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution in the second half of the twentieth century; they are interconnected, cover all aspects of people’s lives and affect all countries of the world without exception.

Many problems are considered global; in the scientific literature their number varies from 8-10 to 40-45. This is explained by the fact that, along with the main, priority global problems (which will be discussed further in the textbook), there are a number of more specific, but also very important problems: crime, drug addiction, separatism, democratic deficit, man-made disasters, natural disasters.

There are various classifications of global problems, usually distinguished: problems of the most “universal” nature, problems of a natural-economic nature, problems of a social nature, problems of a mixed nature. There are also “older” and “newer” global problems. Their priority may also change over time. So, at the end of the twentieth century. Environmental and demographic problems came to the fore, while the problem of preventing a third world war became less pressing.

Among modern global problems, the main groups are distinguished:

Problems of a socio-political nature. These include: preventing global thermonuclear war, creating a nuclear-free, non-violent world, bridging the growing gap in the level of economic and cultural development between the advanced industrial countries of the West and the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Problems related to the relationship between humanity and society. We are talking about eliminating poverty, hunger and illiteracy, fighting disease, stopping population growth, anticipating and preventing the negative consequences of the scientific and technological revolution and rationally using its achievements for the benefit of society and the individual.

Ecological problems. They arise in the sphere of relations between society and nature. These include: protection and restoration of the environment, atmosphere, soil, water; providing humanity with the necessary natural resources, including food, raw materials and energy sources.

The problem of international terrorism has recently acquired particular relevance and, in fact, has become one of the highest priorities.

The causes of global problems are:

the integrity of the modern world, which is ensured by deep political and economic ties, for example, war;

the crisis of world civilization is associated with the increased economic power of man: the impact of man on nature in its consequences is comparable to the most formidable natural forces;

uneven development of countries and cultures: people living in different countries, with different political systems, according to the achieved level of development, they live in historically different cultural eras.

Global problems of humanity cannot be solved by the efforts of one country; jointly developed regulations on environmental protection, coordinated economic policies, assistance to backward countries, etc. are needed.

In general, the global problems of humanity can be schematically represented as a tangle of contradictions, where from each problem various threads stretch to all other problems.

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.

globalization economic growth crisis

Bibliography

1.Bulatov A.S. World economy / A.S.Bulatov. - M.: Economy, 2005. 734 p. P.381-420.

2.Golubintsev V.O. Philosophy. Textbook / V.O. Golubintsev, A.A. Dantsev, V.S. Lyubchenko. - Taganrog: SRSTU, 2001. - 560 p.

.Maksakovsky V.P. Geography. Economic and social geography of the world. 10th grade / V.P.Maksakovsky. - M.: Education, 2009. - 397 p.

.Nizhnikov S.A. Philosophy: course of lectures: textbook / S.A. Nizhnikov. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2006. - 383 p.

.Nikolaikin N.I. Ecology: Textbook. for universities / N.I. Nikolaikin, N.E. Nikolaikina, O.P. Melekhova. - M.: Bustard, 2004. - 624 p.

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Global problems of our time:

These are problems facing humanity that require the integration of human efforts to solve them and threaten the existence of humanity,

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

The globalization of social, cultural, economic and political processes in the modern world, along with its positive aspects, has given rise to a number of serious problems, which are called “global problems of humanity.”

Peculiarities:

They have a planetary character,

They threaten all of humanity

They require collective efforts of the world community.

Types of global problems:

1. crisis of attitude towards nature (ecological problem): exhaustion of natural resources, irreversible changes in the environment,

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

9. the problem of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and AIDS.

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

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

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

Attempted solutions:

Demographic transition - the natural end of the population explosion of the 1960s

Nuclear disarmament

The Club of Rome initially considered one of its main tasks to attract the attention of the world community to global problems. One report is prepared annually. The Club's order for reports determines only the topic and guarantees funding for scientific research, but in no case affects the progress of the work, nor its results and conclusions.

1 Ecological problems:

Environmental pollution,

Extinction of animal and plant species,

Deforestation,

Global warming,

Depletion of natural resources,

The ozone hole.

Steps to solve:

1982 - acceptance UN world charter for nature conservation,

2008 - signing of the Kyoto protocols to reduce emissions into the atmosphere,

Environmental legislation in individual countries

Development of new waste-free, resource-saving processing technologies,

Human education.

2 Demographic problems:

Threat of overpopulation

Sharp population growth in third world countries,

Low birth rates in countries " golden billion» (Europe and Middle East: Austria, Belgium, UK, Germany, Greece. Denmark, Israel, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland , France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Australia; Oceania and the Far East: Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan; North America: Canada, USA.).

3 Socio-economic problems:

The problem "north" - "south" - the gap between rich countries and poor countries in the south,

The threat of hunger and lack of medical coverage in developing countries.

4 Political problems:

The threat of a third world war,

The problem of global terrorism,

The threat of nuclear proliferation outside the “nuclear club”( Nuclear Club- a political science cliché, a symbol for a group, i.e., nuclear powers - states that have developed, produced and tested nuclear weapons, USA (since 1945), Russia (originally the Soviet Union, 1949), Great Britain (1952), France (1960), China (1964), India (1974), Pakistan (1998) and North Korea (2006). Israel is also considered to have nuclear weapons.

The threat of local conflicts turning into global ones.

5 Humanitarian problems:

Spread of incurable diseases,

Criminalization of society

Spread of drug addiction

Man and cloning.

Man and computer.

Ways to overcome global problems:

In order to overcome the global problems of our time, society must rely on certain basic values. Many modern philosophers believe that such values ​​can be values ​​of humanism.

The implementation of the principles of humanism means the manifestation of a universal human principle. Humanism is defined as a system of ideas and values ​​that affirm the universal significance of human existence in general and the individual in particular.

Global problems of our time- this is a set of the most acute, vitally important human problems, the successful solution of which requires the combined efforts of all states. These are problems on the solution of which further social progress and the fate of the entire world civilization depend.

These include, first of all, the following:

· preventing the threat of nuclear war;

· overcoming the environmental crisis and its consequences;

· resolution of energy, raw materials and food crises;

· reducing the gap in the level of economic development between developed Western countries and developing countries of the “third world”,

· stabilization of the demographic situation on the planet.

· fight against transnational organized crime and international terrorism,

· health protection and prevention of the spread of AIDS and drug addiction.

The general features of global problems are that they:

· have acquired a truly planetary, worldwide character, affecting the interests of the peoples of all states;

· threaten humanity with serious regression in the further development of productive forces, in the conditions of life itself;

· need urgent decisions and actions to overcome and prevent dangerous consequences and threats to the life support and safety of citizens;

· require collective efforts and actions on the part of all states and the entire world community.

Ecological problems

The uncontrollable growth of production, the consequences of scientific and technological progress and unreasonable environmental management today put the world under the threat of a global environmental catastrophe. A detailed consideration of the prospects for the development of mankind, taking into account current natural processes, leads to the need to sharply limit the pace and volume of production, because their further uncontrolled growth can push us beyond the line beyond which there will no longer be sufficient quantities of all the necessary resources necessary for human life, including including clean air and water. Consumer society, formed today, thoughtlessly and non-stop wasting resources, puts humanity on the brink of a global catastrophe.

Over the past decades, the general condition of water resources has noticeably deteriorated.- rivers, lakes, reservoirs, inland seas. Meanwhile global water consumption has doubled between 1940 and 1980, and according to experts, doubled again by 2000. Under the influence of economic activity water resources are depleted, small rivers disappear, water intake in large reservoirs is reduced. Eighty countries, representing 40% of the world's population, are currently experiencing water shortage.

Sharpness demographic problem cannot be assessed abstracting from economic and social factors. Shifts in the growth rate and structure of the population occur in the context of persistent deep disproportions in the distribution of the global economic system. Accordingly, in countries with great economic potential, the overall level of spending on health care, education, preservation of the natural environment is immeasurably higher, and, as a result, life expectancy is much higher than in group of developing countries.

As for the countries of Eastern Europe and the former USSR, where 6.7% of the world’s population lives, they lag behind economically developed countries by 5 times

Socio-economic problems, the problem of the growing gap between highly developed countries and third world countries (the so-called 'North - South' problem)

One of the most serious problems of our time is the problem of socio-economic development. Today there is one trend - the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. The so-called “civilized world” (USA, Canada, Japan, Western European countries - only about 26 states - approximately 23% of the world population) currently consumes from 70 to 90% of the goods produced.

The problem of the relationship between the “First” and “Third” worlds is called the “North-South” problem. Regarding her there is two opposing concepts:

· the reason for the backwardness of the countries of the poor "South" is the so-called "Vicious circle of poverty", in which they fall, and due to which they cannot begin effective development. Many economists in the North, supporters of this point of view, believe that the South itself is to blame for its troubles.

· that it is the “civilized world” that bears the main responsibility for the poverty of the countries of the modern “Third World”, because it was with the participation and under the dictation of the richest countries in the world that the process of formation of a modern economic system took place, and, naturally, these countries found themselves in a obviously more advantageous position, that today allowed them to form the so-called. The “golden billion”, plunging the rest of humanity into the abyss of poverty, mercilessly exploiting both the mineral and labor resources of countries that find themselves out of work in the modern world.

Demographic crisis

In 1800 there were only about 1 billion people on the planet, in 1930 - 2 billion, in 1960 - already 3 billion, in 1999 humanity reached 6 billion. Today the world's population is increasing by 148 people. per minute (247 are born, 99 die) or 259 thousand per day - these are modern realities. At The world population is growing unevenly. The share of developing countries in the total population of the planet has increased over the past half century from 2/3 to almost 4/5. Today, humanity is faced with the need to control population growth, because the number of people that our planet can support is still limited, especially since a possible lack of resources in the future (which will be discussed below), coupled with the huge number of people inhabiting the planet, can lead to to tragic and irreversible consequences.

Another major demographic shift is the rapid process of “rejuvenation” of the population in a group of developing countries and, conversely, the aging of residents of developed countries. The share of children under 15 years of age in the first three post-war decades increased in most developing countries to 40-50% of their population. As a result, the largest part of the working-age workforce is currently concentrated in these countries. Providing employment to the vast labor force of the developing world, especially in the poorest and poorest countries, is today one of the most pressing social problems of truly international importance.

In the same time increasing life expectancy and slowing birth rates in developed countries have led to a significant increase in the proportion of elderly people, which entailed a huge burden on the pension, healthcare and trustee systems. Governments are faced with the need to develop new social policies that can solve the problems of population aging in the 21st century.

The problem of exhaustible resources (mineral, energy and other)

Scientific and technological progress, which gave impetus to the development of modern industry, required a sharp increase in the production of various types of mineral raw materials. Today every year production of oil, gas, and other minerals is increasing. Thus, according to scientists' forecasts, at the current rate of development, oil reserves will last on average for another 40 years, natural gas reserves should last for 70 years, and coal reserves for 200 years. Here it should be taken into account that today humanity receives 90% of its energy from the combustion heat of fuel (oil, coal, gas), and the rate of energy consumption is constantly growing, and this growth is not linear. Alternative energy sources are also used - nuclear, as well as wind, geothermal, solar and other types of energy. As seen, The key to the successful development of human society in the future may be not only the transition to the use of recycled materials, new energy sources and energy-saving technologies(which is certainly necessary), but, first of all, revision of principles, on which a modern economy is built, not looking back at any restrictions in terms of resources, except for those that may require too much monetary expenditure, which will not be justified in the future.

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Confrontations of military, political and economic forces in different regions of the planet occur constantly. As soon as there is a lull in the Western Hemisphere, the causes of global problems appear in some other part of the Earth. Sociologists, economists, political scientists and representatives of various cultural and scientific circles provide explanations for these phenomena from the perspective of their vision, but the complexities of humanity have a planetary scale, so everything cannot be reduced to problems that exist in any one region and a single period of time.

Global problem concept

When the world was too big for people, they still didn't have enough space. The inhabitants of the Earth are so structured that the peaceful coexistence of small peoples, even over vast territories, cannot last forever. There are always those who are haunted by their neighbor’s lands and their well-being. The translation of the French word global sounds like “universal”, that is, it concerns everyone. But problems on a global scale arose even before the advent of not only this language, but also writing in general.

If we consider the history of the development of the human race, then one of the reasons for the emergence of global problems is the selfishness of each individual person. It just so happens that in the material world all individuals think only about themselves. This happens even when people care about the happiness and well-being of their children and loved ones. Often one’s own survival and obtaining material wealth is based on the destruction of one’s neighbor and the confiscation of wealth from him.

This has been the case since the times of the Sumerian kingdom and Ancient Egypt, and the same thing is happening today. In the history of human development there have always been wars and revolutions. The latter came from good intentions to take away the sources of wealth from the rich in order to distribute to the poor. Because of the thirst for gold, new territories or power, each historical era discovered its own reasons for the emergence of global problems of mankind. Sometimes they led to the emergence of great empires (Roman, Persian, British and others), which were formed by conquering other peoples. In some cases - to the destruction of entire civilizations, as was the case with the Incas and Mayans.

But never before have the causes of their occurrence influenced the planet as a whole so acutely as they do today. This is due to the mutual integration of the economies of different countries and their dependence on each other.

Ecological situation on Earth

The reasons for the emergence of global ones initially do not lie in the development of industrial production, which began only in the 17th and 18th centuries. They started much earlier. If we compare the relationship between a person and the environment at different stages of his development, they can be divided into 3 stages:

• Worship of nature and its powerful forces. In the primitive communal and even in the slave system, there was a very close relationship between the world and man. People deified nature, brought her gifts so that she would have mercy on them and give a high harvest, since they directly depended on her “whims.”
• In the Middle Ages, religious dogmas that, although man is a sinful creature, is still the crown of Creation, raised people above the world around them. Already during this period, the gradual subordination of the environment to humanity for the benefit of humanity begins.
• The development of capitalist relations has led to the fact that nature began to be used as an auxiliary material that should “work” for people. Massive deforestation, subsequent pollution of air, rivers and lakes, destruction of animals - all this led earthly civilization at the beginning of the 20th century to the first signs of an unhealthy ecology.

Each historical era in the development of mankind became a new stage in the destruction of what surrounded it. Subsequent causes of global environmental problems are the development of the chemical, engineering, aircraft and rocket industries, mass mining and electrification.

The most tragic year for the ecology of the planet was 1990, when more than 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide produced by industrial enterprises of all economically developed countries combined were released into the atmosphere. Although after this scientists and environmentalists sounded the alarm, and urgent measures were taken to eliminate the consequences of the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer, the causes of humanity's global problems only began to truly emerge. Among them, one of the first places is occupied by economic development in different countries.

Economic problems

For some reason, historically it always happened that civilizations appeared in different parts of the Earth and developed unevenly. If at the stage of the primitive communal system everything is more or less similar: gathering, hunting, the first crude tools and transitions from one abundant place to another, then already in the Chalcolithic period the level of development of settled tribes varies.

The appearance of metal tools for labor and hunting brings the countries in which they are produced to first place. In a historical context, this is Europe. In this regard, nothing has changed, only in the 21st century it is not the owner of a bronze sword or musket who is ahead of the rest, but the countries where there are nuclear weapons or advanced technologies in various fields of science and technology (economically highly developed states). Therefore, even today, when scientists are asked: “Name two reasons for the emergence of global problems of our time,” they point to poor ecology and a large number of economically underdeveloped countries.

Third world countries and highly civilized states are especially at odds with the following indicators:

Currently, many countries are economically dependent on each other. If 200-300 years ago tea was grown in India and Ceylon, processed there, packaged and transported to other countries by sea, and one or more companies could participate in this process, today the raw materials are grown in one country, processed in another, and packaged in the third. And this applies to all industries - from making chocolate to launching space rockets. Therefore, often the reasons for the emergence of global problems lie in the fact that if an economic crisis begins in one country, it automatically spreads to all partner states, and its consequences reach a planetary scale.

A good indicator in the integration of the economies of different countries is that they unite not only in times of prosperity, but also in moments of economic crisis. They do not have to deal with its consequences alone, as richer countries support the economies of their less developed partners.

Population growth

Scientists believe that another reason for the emergence of global problems of our time is the rapid growth of population on the planet. In this matter, two trends can be noted:

• In highly developed Western European countries, the birth rate is extremely low. Families with more than 2 children are rare here. This gradually leads to the fact that the indigenous population of Europe is aging, and they are being replaced by immigrants from African and Asian countries, in whose families it is customary to have many children.
• On the other hand, economically, such as India, countries of South and Central America, Africa and Asia, have a very low standard of living, but a high birth rate. Lack of proper medical care, lack of food and clean water - all this leads to high mortality, so it is customary to have many children so that a small part of them can survive.

If you follow the growth of the planet's population throughout the 20th century, you can see how strong the demographic “explosion” was in certain years.

In 1951 the population was just over 2.5 billion. Just 10 years later, more than 3 billion people already lived on the planet, and by 1988 the population had crossed the 5 billion mark. In 1999, this figure reached 6 billion, and in 2012 there were already more than 7 billion people living on the planet.

According to scientists, the main reasons for the emergence of global problems are that the Earth’s resources, with the illiterate exploitation of its subsoil, as is happening today, are not enough for the ever-growing population. Nowadays, 40 million people die of hunger every year, which does not reduce the population at all, since its average increase in 2016 is more than 200,000 newborns per day.

Thus, the essence of global problems and the reasons for their occurrence is the constant growth of the population, which, according to scientists, will exceed 10 billion by 2100. All these people eat, breathe, enjoy the benefits of civilization, drive cars, fly airplanes and destroy nature with their life activity. If they do not change their attitude towards the environment and their own kind, then in the future the planet will face global environmental disasters, massive pandemics and military conflicts.

Food problems

If highly developed countries are characterized by an abundance of products, most of which lead to health problems such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes and many others, then for third world countries constant malnutrition or hunger among the population is normal.

In general, all countries can be divided into 3 types:

• Those where there is a constant shortage of food and water. This is 1/5 of the planet's population.
• Countries that produce and grow plenty of food and have a food culture.
• States that have programs to combat excess food consumption in order to reduce the percentage of people suffering from the consequences of poor or excessive nutrition.

But it just so happened historically and economically that in countries where the population is in especially dire need of food and clean water, either the food industry is poorly developed or there are no favorable natural and climatic conditions for farming.

At the same time, there are resources on the planet to ensure that no one ever goes hungry. Food-producing nations can feed 8 billion more people than the world's population, but today 1 billion people live in extreme poverty and 260 million children go hungry every year. When 1/5 of the planet's population suffers from hunger, it means that this is a problem on a global scale, and all of humanity must solve it together.

Social inequality

The main reasons for the emergence of global problems are contradictions between social classes, which manifest themselves in such criteria as:

• Wealth when all or almost all natural and economic resources are in the hands of a small group of selected people, companies or a dictator.
• Power that can belong to one person - the head of state or a small group of people.

Most of them have a pyramid in their structure of distribution of society, at the top of which there is a small number of rich people, and below are the poor layers of the population. With this distribution of power and finances in the state, people are divided into rich and poor, without a middle class layer.

If the structure of the state is a diamond, at the top of which there are also those in power, at the bottom the poor, but the largest layer between them is the middle peasants, then there are no clearly expressed social and class contradictions in it. The political structure in such a country is more stable, the economy is highly developed, and social protection of the low-income population is provided by government and charitable organizations.

Today, many countries in South and Central America, Africa and Asia have a pyramidal structure, in which 80-90% of the population lives below the poverty line. They have an unstable political situation, military coups and revolutions often occur, which creates an imbalance in the world community, since other countries may be involved in their conflicts.

Political confrontations

Philosophy (science) defines the main causes of global problems as the separation of man and nature. Philosophers sincerely believe that it is enough for people to harmonize their inner world with the external environment, and problems will disappear. In fact, everything is somewhat more complicated.

In any state there are political forces whose rule determines not only the level and quality of life of its population, but also its entire foreign policy. For example, today there are aggressor countries that create military conflicts on the territories of other states. Their political system is opposed to defending the rights of their victims.

Since in our time almost all countries are economically connected with each other, it is also natural for them to unite against states that use a policy of violence. If 100 years ago the answer to military aggression was an armed conflict, today economic and political sanctions are applied that do not take human lives, but can completely destroy the economy of the aggressor country.

Military conflicts

The causes of global problems are often the result of small military conflicts. Unfortunately, even in the 21st century, with all its technologies and achievements in science, human consciousness remains at the level of thinking of representatives of the Middle Ages.

Although witches are not burned at the stake today, religious wars and terrorist attacks look no less savage than the Inquisition did in its time. The only effective measure to suppress military conflicts on the planet should be the unification of all countries against the aggressor. The fear of being economically, politically and culturally isolated must be stronger than the desire to attack the territory of a neighboring state.

Global Human Development

Sometimes the causes of global problems in the world manifest themselves on the basis of ignorance and cultural backwardness of some peoples. Today one can observe such contrasts, when in one country people prosper, create and live for the benefit of the state and each other, and in another they strive to gain access to nuclear developments. An example would be the confrontation between South and North Korea. Fortunately, there are more countries in which people seek to establish themselves through advances in science, medicine, technology, culture and the arts.

You can notice how the consciousness of humanity is changing, becoming a single organism. For example, scientists from different countries can work on the same project in order to combine the efforts of the best minds to implement it faster.

Ways to solve problems

If we briefly list the reasons for the emergence of global problems of humanity, they will be:

• bad ecology;
• the presence of economically underdeveloped countries;
• military conflicts;
• political and religious confrontations;
• rapid population growth.

To solve these problems, countries must become even more interconnected with each other to join forces to eliminate the consequences that are occurring on the planet.

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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 in the natural human environment 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 the Latin word “globe”, that is, Earth, globe, and since the late 60s of the 20th century it has become widespread to refer to 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 in the further development of the world, 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 a particular 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).

The aggravation of traditional problems (food, energy, raw materials, demographic, environmental, etc.) that arose at different times and among different peoples is now forming a new social phenomenon - a set of global problems of our time.

In general, 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 was 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. The 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. Deficiency 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, a demographic crisis is evident in the former socialist world.

Some countries are experiencing an absolute decline in population; others are characterized by fairly high rates of 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 in Western countries there were 94 men per 100 women, while in different regions the ratio of male and female populations was 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 of 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 technological processes are being created and developed 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:

Changing the nature of production activities - the creation of waste-free production, heat-energy-resource-saving technologies, the 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

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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