Club of Rome - what is it? International public organization (analytical centre): history of creation, tasks, members of the club

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In the modern era, many of the problems of mankind are becoming global. Their great relevance is explained by a number of factors: the increasing impact of people on nature, the acceleration of the development of society, the awareness of the exhaustibility of the most important natural resources, the impact of modern media and technical means, etc. The Club of Rome played an important role in resolving these issues.

What are the global problems of humanity? These are the most acute socio-natural contradictions that affect the whole world, and hence individual countries and regions. They must be distinguished from private, local and regional problems.

Global problems of our time

They should be clearly identified, since it is the Club of Rome that deals with them. What are global problems, we have already defined. It should also be said that they are divided into three groups. Let's briefly describe each of them:

1. The first are those related to relations between groups of states. Such problems are called intersocial. Examples are as follows: the problem of ensuring peace and preventing wars, establishing a just economic order at the international level.
2. The second group of problems unites those that have arisen as a result of the interaction of nature and society. They are related to the fact that the environment has limited ability to endure anthropogenic impact. Examples of such problems are the availability of fuel, energy, clean air, fresh water. This also includes the protection of nature from various irreversible changes, as well as the reasonable exploration of outer space and the oceans.
3. Finally, the third group of global problems combines issues related to the human-society system. It is about what concerns the individual person directly. These concerns relate to the extent to which society is able to provide opportunities for personal development.

Aurelio Peccei, founder of the Club of Rome and also its first president, recalled that the more clearly he understood all the dangers threatening humanity, the more convinced he was that decisive action must be taken immediately. Alone, he could not do anything, so he decided to create a circle of like-minded people. Aurelio Peccei wanted to offer the world new approaches to the study of world problems that worried him. The result was the creation of the Club of Rome.

Who is A. Peccei

The years of this man's life -1908-1984. He was from the family of an Italian socialist. Peccei defended his doctoral dissertation in 1930 on the New Economic Policy, which was carried out in the USSR. During World War II, he took part in the resistance movement. Peccei visited at that time in the fascist dungeons. It must be said that the Aurelio family did not live in poverty. Nevertheless, this man from a young age was concerned about the eradication of injustice in society. Peccei traveled a lot around the world. He saw the luxury and we alth of some and the squalor and poverty of others.

Alexander King

This British professor of physical chemistry was also a founding member of the Club of Rome. In the late 1960s, he became Director General for Science of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). After Peccei's death, it was Alexander King (pictured left) who led the Club of Rome until 1991.

Establishment of the Club of Rome

The number of this association has never exceeded a hundred people. It was founded in 1967. The think tank was conceived as a non-governmental international organization that brings together scientists, businessmen and politicians from all over the world. In addition to full members, the Club of Rome has associate and honorary ones. The analytical center got its name from the city of Rome, where the meeting of its founders took place (at the Accademia dei Lincei).

The mission and goals of the club

The main task of the organization since itseducation - the definition of vital problems that face humanity, as well as the development of ways to solve them. The goals of the Club of Rome, based on this, are as follows:

• development of a methodology for analyzing the so-called difficulties of humanity (primarily limited resources and uncontrolled growth of production and consumption processes);
• propaganda of the seriousness of the crisis in which the modern world finds itself;
• definition of measures by which global equilibrium can be achieved.

Aurelio Peccei formulated a "cross-cutting" idea, according to which the crisis situation is the result of a gap between the technical achievements of mankind and its cultural development.

Club Settings

This organization has always remained small, which should have contributed to the establishment of permanent contacts between its members. True, and with such a quantity, it is not always easy to implement. The Club of Rome should not become an organization in the conventional sense of the word, as there are already enough such associations in the world. It exists on its own budget, even a meager one, so as not to depend on any sources of funding. The club is transcultural, that is, its members turn to different value systems, ideologies and scientific disciplines, without being associated with any of them. The association is considered informal, which promotes a free exchange of opinions. Another attitude is that the Club of Rome is ready to disappear if it is no longer needed, because there is nothing worseinstitutions or ideas that have outlived their usefulness.

Activities of the Club of Rome

More than 30 associations in various countries of the world have contributed to its work, promoting the concepts of the club in their states. The research projects initiated by them de alt with various aspects of the current crisis state of our planet. They were financed by large firms and carried out by scientists from various countries, who presented their results in the form of reports to the club. It should be noted that the association we are interested in does not have a formal budget and staff. Its activities are coordinated by a 12-member executive committee.

The international secretariat of the organization at the beginning of 2008 was relocated from the German city of Hamburg to Winterthur (Switzerland). Currently, the club continues to study the current state of the world. And since the founding of the association, great changes have taken place in it, especially in geopolitics.

Club members

International public organization in its composition seeks to present a section of progressive humanity. Among its members were prominent statesmen, thinkers, scientists, managers and teachers from more than 30 countries of the world. Their life experience and education were different, as was their position in society. In addition, these people held different views and beliefs. The Club of Rome brought together biologists Aklila Lemm from Ethiopia and Karl-Geran Haden from Sweden; sociologist and Marxist philosopher Adam Schaff from Poland; Canadian and US Senators M. Lamontana and C. Pall;Brazilian political scientist Helio Jagaribe; an urbanist from Japan, Kenzo Tange, and others. All these and many other members were united by concern for the fate of mankind and a deep sense of humanism. They held different opinions, but were free to express them in the form they considered most acceptable. Note that government members, as a rule, cannot be members of the organization of interest to us at the same time.

Club of Rome in Russia

In the USSR in 1989, the Association for Assistance to the Club of Rome appeared. Academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences E. K. Fedorov, D. M. Gvishiani, V. A. Sadovnichiy, A. A. Logunov, E. M. Primakov, as well as the writer Ch. T. Aitmatov were its full members at different times.

Paton Boris Evgenievich and Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeevich are honorary members of the club. The latter needs no introduction, but not everyone knows about the former. Paton Boris Evgenievich (pictured above) is a professor, Ukrainian and Soviet scientist in the field of metal technology and metallurgy. He was twice awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor. In addition, this scientist became the first Hero of Ukraine in history.

Full member until 2012 was Professor Sergei Petrovich Kapitsa. You must have heard something about this scientist. Sergey Petrovich Kapitsa (pictured above) is a Russian and Soviet physicist, educator, vice-president of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, TV presenter, and editor-in-chief of the famous magazine "In the World of Science". Since 1973, he has hosted the television program Obvious-Unbelievable. Thisthe scientist is the son of Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, who received the Nobel Prize.

Two global issues the club considered

There were many serious problems in the field of view of the organization of interest to us. However, her favorite topic is the question that the environment and human society are a single system. Uncontrolled activity of people leads to the loss of stability in it. Two so-called myths should be mentioned, the desirability and necessity of which were discussed in the reports to the club. We are talking about global warming and ozone holes. They formed the basis of the Kyoto and Montreal Protocols, the largest international agreements.

Many people know that the ozone layer is an atmospheric belt, which is located at an altitude of 10-50 km above the surface of our planet and protects it from the ultraviolet radiation of the sun, which is detrimental to life. As early as 1957, observations of this layer began as part of the International Geophysical Year, announced then. Its thickness has been found to vary with the season. In the 1980s, they started talking about the "ozone hole" located above Antarctica, where at times the area of the thinned layer exceeded 15 million square meters. km. The media and scientists sounded the alarm, believing that solar radiation threatens life on our planet.

In Montreal in 1987, 36 countries signed a protocol banning the use of substances that deplete the ozone layer. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. Participating countriesof this agreement, they pledged to limit man-made emissions of greenhouse gases to the level of 1990. This is primarily about water vapor and carbon dioxide. They allegedly increase the greenhouse effect, which leads to global warming. If the emission standards set by the protocol are exceeded, then the following options are possible for the states that have signed it: the introduction of emission quotas, the payment of fines and the closure of enterprises.

In closing

At present, such an organization as the Club of Rome is relatively rarely mentioned. Not all representatives of the younger generation know that such an association existed. This organization is seen rather as an association belonging to history. In the 70s of the last century came the peak of the popularity of the Club of Rome (Club of Rome). This was largely due to the first reports of the "non-profit civil association", whose members were scientists, prominent managers, politicians and financiers. Under the influence of the activities of the Club of Rome, global studies took shape as an interdisciplinary social science discipline. Its ideas in 1990-2000 became an integral part of scientific culture. In addition to the main activity, the Club of Rome contributed to the formation of small local groups in various countries. He helped spread many important messages, giving the movement for a better world momentum and strength.

So, we answered the question: "The Club of Rome - what is it?". The existence of such organizations, you will agree, is very important in the modern world.