Contents

Theory

Shishkov Yu. V. Challenges of the new historical epoch (pp. 3–19). Original text and References

In the end of the 20^th century the humankind entered the epoch of knowledge and impetuous technology progress. But this progress combined with population size rapid growth has led to an acute conflict between the world society needs and world natural resources scarcity. One observes the increasing sweet water shortage, scarcity of cultivated area and provision, and degrading planetary environment conditions. A strategy to resolve the deadlock is an urgent need. Some fantasts offer to rearrange the world nature, others – to move to different planets. The attempts to solve this difficult task in a practical way are complicated by the fact that neither national states nor intergovernmental organizations are suitable for this. The possible way out lies in the development of triple network mechanism of global regulation including states, transnational business and world civil society.

Keywords:challenge for civilization; provision scarcity; water shortage; greenhouse gases; flowing of lands; rearrangement of nature; humankind movement; national state; transnational business; civil society; global triple mechanism.

Mironov V. V. Globalization and the danger of unification (pp. 20–33). Original text and References

The author considers the urgent problems of modern globalization which among other has led to a swift extension of communication. The latter allows speaking about a global communication area with technological innovations making it possible the interaction between different cultures. By the example of Germany it is shown the way capitalism in the absence of an ideological competitor represented by socialism, under new, first of all, scientific, technical and communicational conditions in fact reverts to its classical model. The author comes to a conclusion that globalization process is a complex transformation of the entire world system and threatens with choosing some uniform and simplifying integration models that can considerably transform national cultures system.

Keywords: globalization, development, unification, culture, society, system, integration.

Spirova E. M. Universal language of globalistics (pp. 34–45). Original text and References

The article is devoted to the search for a universal history, universal consciousness. In the context of globalism language, symbol, culture in general promote the convergence of all cultures in a single planetary space. Simultaneously, there appear serious contradictions in this process, connected with multiculturalism failure, searching for cultural differences and a concept of universalism.

Keywords: symbol, global studies, culture, multiculturalism, unity of history, tribal conscience, hieroglyph, post-modernism, communication, historiosophy.

Vasilyev Yu. A. The view of general metamorphosis in the light of the world history (pp. 46–57). Original text and References

This article presents the concept of world-historical point of view as an important part of the theory of historical process (historiology) of Nikolay Kareev, the founder of the «Ecole Russe». On the basis of a global systems approach reveals the content of the third landmark in the history of mankind.

Keywords: World history, world-historical point of view, the epochal metamorphosis, development, regularity, continuity, integration, international systems, identity, global history.

Globalization Processes

Kiss E. A possible history of globalization and the challenges of the 21^st century (pp. 58–67). Original text and References

The author considers historical aspects of globalization, which he connects with modernity, rather than with past development of global processes, because he treats globalization as a modern phenomenon and thereupon draws prior attention to ‘history of the present’. Relying on abundant facts from different social spheres (economy, culture, politics) and exercising judgment in interpreting widely knowing ideas of S. Huntington, he concludes that historical view on globalization gives us reason to speak about the coming of new bipolarity era which is only now beginning.

Keywords: globalization history, modernity, post-imperial world, global world economy, individualization, global mass culture.

Fyodorov I. A., Zaporozhchenko O. A. Contradictions in sociological dimensions of the history time' cycles (pp. 68–83). Original text and References

The article deals with complex problems of modern humanitarian ideas about the nature of time. It describes the latest theories of modern astrophysics, philosophy and cosmology. Characteristics of historical time, its qualitative specificity and its dependence on the movement of society are determined. This article is intended for a wide range of teachers, students, scholars and students of higher institutions.

Keywords: time, time-space, strings theory, “Higgs Ocean”.

Gezalov A. A. Globalization as a social transformation (pp. 84–93). Original text and References

The article deals with complex problems of modern humanitarian ideas about the nature of time. It describes the latest theories of modern astrophysics, philosophy and cosmology. Characteristics of historical time, its qualitative specificity and its dependence on the movement of society are determined. This article is intended for a wide range of teachers, students, scholars and students of higher institutions.

Keywords: time, time-space, strings theory, “Higgs Ocean”.

Global problems

Pohl K.-H. Chinese and Western values: reflections on the methodology of a cross-cultural dialogue (pp. 94–103). Original text and References

The article is devoted to the cross-cultural dialogue as a possible means to prevent potential conflicts in the international arena. The author analyzes the notions of ‘culture’, ‘civilization’, and, on this basis, searches for general conceptions (intercultural universals), drawing special attention to the Chinese and Western values at that. He comes to the conclusion that for the humanity to prosper on the planet the non-western and Western values are of the equal importance, and cross-cultural understanding needs no theoretical and ideological, but rather pragmatic and hermeneutical approaches.

Keywords: culture, values, cross-cultural dialogue, moral, social norms, global dominance.

Galichin V. A. The major features and trends of developing adult education in the contex of globalization (pp. 104–113). Original text and References

The article analyzes contemporary trends of adult education development. An important element of adult education system is informal and non-formal education. Significant growth of adult population, participating in education of different forms within formal educational system and beyond, confirms demand for states', international and national organizations' and NGOs' efforts.

Keywords: globalization, adult education, formal education, informal and nonformal education, recognition of the former education results, migration, labour migrants, migratory policy, demographic state, NGOs, educational policy.

Nature, Man, Society

Torosyan V. G. On tolerance in the modern world (pp. 115–118). Original text and References

The author raises a problem of tolerance under growing global interconnectedness. He pays attention to the defects of the interpretation of the very term as well as in the line of tolerance-oriented behaviour. In the author's opinion, this problem is of special urgency in Russia where conventional for years and centuries values are seriously transformed.

Keywords: tolerance, political correctness, education, upbringing, identity, crisis, culture.

Dumnaya N. N. Nature puts obstacles in the way of economic development (pp. 119–125). Original text and References

The article is devoted to the acute problem of the relationship between man and nature. The author proposes the use of self-organization theory (Synergetics) to identify the most common patterns of relationships between nature and human in order to ensure the sustainable development of human civilization.

Keywords: nature, people, self-organization, tehnocenoz, co-evolution, sustainable development.

Vasetsova E. S. Islam as the religion of peace and tolerance (pp. 126–130). Original text and References

The article is devoted to the unveiling of a wrong idea of Islam as an intolerant and very aggressive religion. Islamophobia is a very dangerous phenomenon supporting an idea of Islam as an ideal basis for terrorism. To eliminate islamophobia it is necessary to explain the essence of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance. Mankind must realize the necessity to develop relations between representatives of different cultures and religions.

Keywords: Islam, Koran, islamophobia, Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights, protection of Islam from extremism.

Rezhabek E. Ya. The guidepath to the society of knowledge: China and Russia (pp. 131–144). Original text and References

The paper considers some strategies of incorporation into “a society of knowledge” of developing countries, such as China, India, Malaysia. The possibilities of high technologies development in Russia are analyzed. The author emphasizes the fact that Russia falls behind other industrially-developed countries in terms of gross national product investments into science and education. The author also stresses the infeasibility of brainwork depreciation and the impermissibility of underfunding of production, distribution and use of scientific knowledge as the main resource of stable society prosperity.

Keywords: the society of knowledge, developing countries, intelligence component of social development, underfunding of scientific knowledge in Russia.

Russia in the Global World

Chilingarov A. N., Lizun V. N. Northern Russia and innovations (pp. 145–160). Original text and References

This article deals with the implementation and use of modern technology and equipment in northern and arctic regions of the Russian Federation. The reasons for the crisis in these regions in the 90s of the last century, which seriously complicated the subsequent course of the innovation process. Put forward specific proposals for development in the legislative arena, reduced the preferential treatment is accelerating the development and introduction of new techniques and technologies for the Russian North and the Arctic. We consider happy future projects which would accelerate the economic development of northern regions among which the formation of a modern transport infrastructure and the Northern Sea Route and mega-project "Transnational corridors" providing for the construction of road, rail and fiber optic route that connects the shortest route Europe and Asia and passing through the territory of Russia stands out.

Keywords: northern and Arctic regions, development and innovation, transport structure of the Northern Sea Route, a reduced-preferential treatment for innovation, the project "Transnational corridors".

Kalachuev B. F. The Russian Empire against drugs (pp. 161–175). Original text and References

The drug problem became global parallel to world colonial policy. Relying on archival and other data the author shows how the Russian Empire stands up to geopolitical drug flow in the country from the outside world. Historical and philosophical analysis and the article evidence is closely connected with the solution of this problem in contemporary Russia.

Keywords: colonization, alcoholism, drug addiction, drugs, secret society, opium wars, the Russian Empire, the World War I, the Cossacks, smuggling, globalization.

Boldyrev I. A. I've had an attack of the blues… (pp. 176–187). Original text and References

The article is dedicated to the repressive actions of the Soviet Government against the leaders of science and culture during the first years of the implementation of the new economic policy (1921–1923). The action known as “Philosophers' ships” was the demonstration of this policy. The change of this event interpretation and change of interest to it is traced on the basis of the analysis of modern literature. Special attention is given to a little-known issue of public reaction to such actions of the Government.

Keywords: socialism and culture; the intellectuals and government; new economic policy; destines of Russian intellectuals; repressive aspect of the Soviet Government.

The article is dedicated to the repressive actions of the Soviet Government against the leaders of science and culture during the first years of the implementation of the new economic policy (1921–1923). The action known as “Philosophers' ships” was the demonstration of this policy. The change of this event interpretation and change of interest to it is traced on the basis of the analysis of modern literature. Special attention is given to a little-known issue of public reaction to such actions of the Government.

Keywords: socialism and culture; the intellectuals and government; new economic policy; destines of Russian intellectuals; repressive aspect of the Soviet Government.

Academic life

Mamedov N. M. The culture of sustainable development. (pp. 188–190). Original text and References

Reviews, annotations, essays

Nefedov S. A. The global view of the global crisis. Review of ‘The global crisis in retrospection’ by L. E. Grinin and A. V. Korotayev (pp. 191–197). Original text and References

The author presents his reflections over the recent monograph by L. E. Grinin and A. V. Korotayev “The Global Crisis in Retrospection: A short story of Rises and Falls. From Licurgus to Alan Greenspan”. This monograph is especially valuable as in Russian economical science it is almost the first systemic analysis of history of crises for the last fifty years. The author of the review emphasizes the merits of the books and thinks that Leonid Grinin and Andrey Korotayev have managed to get some new valuable results in the study of the nature of the crises and developmental cycles.

Keywords: economic cycles, Juglar cycles, Kondratiev waves, World-System approach, modern economy, financial “bubbles”.

The Authors of the Issue (p. 198).