From the very childhood we only hear that progress is the most important thing that humanity has. We must move forward, to new and new successes and in no case stop, because, having stopped, we will inevitably roll back, and this means the death of civilization. Well, that's it, movement is, indeed, life. But what exactly do we mean by success, towards which humanity must constantly move? And which path to choose?
LACK OF DREAM
Some 40-50 and even 30 years ago, answers to such questions were found easily and naturally. Success? This is, of course, becoming rich and therefore happy. Only in the West, the emphasis was placed more on the wealth and happiness of an individual (in the extreme case, a family), while in the USSR it was believed that it was enough to achieve the material wealth and power of the Motherland for every Soviet person to immediately feel happy. At the same time, oddly enough, the path to wealth and happiness both in the West and in the USSR was offered the same - the all-round development of science and technology. Indeed, science, starting from the 50s of the last century and almost until its end, was what is called “on horseback”. Newspapers, radio and television talked about scientific discoveries and technological advances. Popular science books and documentaries were written about them, and scientists and outstanding engineers became heroes of interviews, TV shows, novels and feature films. And there was something to write and shoot about! The man figured out the structure of DNA. Flew into space and landed on the moon. Began to widely use atomic energy for peaceful purposes. I learned to transplant the heart and other important organs. Invented personal computers and the Internet. He figured out how to feed the whole world with the help of GMOs and the latest agricultural technologies. And many many others. The level, quality and life expectancy have steadily crept upwards. It seemed a little bit more and a new "golden age" would come. But year after year, decade after decade, there was no general happiness. Science still promised us heaven on earthbut the layman's faith in her omnipotence has noticeably diminished. As well as pseudo-scientific romance in general. It turned out that it is much more important for an ordinary person to be able to post a photo of his beloved cat on the Web for all to see than to fly to Mars. And instead of a lack of things and food, there was a lack of meaning and dreams.
WHITE WHEEL
Having received a smartphone, cheap food, clothes and Hollywood blockbusters instead of a starship, the man realized that he did not need the latter so much. Indeed, why fly to other worlds? To bring there the same problems of ours that we cannot solve on our home planet? Starting from the eternal confrontation between the poor and the rich and ending with the same loss of global meanings. And why do we need teleportation, for example? So that the entire transport system and industry collapsed overnight, and millions of people were left without work? And what is super interesting and important we learn by learning to read other people's thoughts? What has his wife put on a married neighbor and he dreams of a young mistress? And immortality! What to do with him, a person whose all desires come down to the possession of more and more new things,as well as achieving maximum comfort with minimum effort? And civilization, progress is on our lead. Do you want softer? Here's a softer one. And even softer. But tastier. And warmer. Fast? No problem, get it. To make it more interesting, but think less? No problem. Just don't forget to pay the money. And in order to earn money, come to us, we will teach you, send you to offices, classrooms, factories, plants and farms. And you will invent and produce something that is softer, tastier, warmer and more interesting. And, most importantly, at the same time to think less. Because thinking is painful and difficult. Do you need it? This is how the wheel of progress turns. Vicious circle. Running in place. And millions of people from the poorest countries, licking their lips, look at this squirrel wheel sparkling with fake holiday lights and are ready to give everything,to be able to twist it too.
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OPTIMIST'S VIEW
But is it all that bad? - another optimist will ask. And he himself will answer - no, not all! And even everything is not bad at all. After all, science never promised to make all of humanity happy. It was invented by journalists, popularizers, lovers of cheap sensations. And the townsfolk swallowed the bait with pleasure. But let's face it. Were it not for science, its achievements, progress, we would still be reading with a torch or, at best, a kerosene lamp; rode in horse-drawn carts; died of plague, cholera, influenza and appendicitis; wrote letters to each other on paper, waiting for an answer for weeks, or even months, and so on and so forth. Science and new technologies give us a lot. And then there will still be! Are you saying that the invention of teleportation will destroy the livelihoods of road workers and vehicle manufacturers? Nonsense. With the proliferation of cars, trains and airplanes, job opportunities have become not less, but more due to the fact that people can travel long distances quickly and relatively inexpensively. In particular, from places where there is no work to places where there is a lot of it. The same will happen with teleportation. We will not talk about immortality, the prospect is too fantastic, but who will be hindered by a long, up to 120-150 years old, life without diseases and frail old age? Marina Tsvetaeva once said that “success is to be in time” and she was right. Can you imagine how much you can do in 150 years of life ?! And not in one field, but in many areas. As for the lack of revolutionary scientific and technical breakthroughs, the lack of meaning and dreams, who said that they will not appear tomorrow? The development of mankind is moving in a spiral, and for the next turn we are likely tonew breakthroughs, new meanings, and new dreams await.
CHOICE OF THE FUTURE
Actually, these new meanings and dreams are already sprouting in society, like invincible young grass through cracked asphalt. And they are not that new. Some were expressed half a century ago by the creators of the so-called transpersonal psychology, which advocates a productive combination of spiritual practices with intellectual development and modern psychological concepts. Others, based on the fact that without a harmonious collective consciousness there can be no harmonious personality, many of those who were born and raised in the USSR still remember. Be that as it may, it is clear that for truly revolutionary breakthroughs and progress, for which one is not ashamed, a person must change. Not just to become smarter, more educated, richer, but … wiser. Seeing and establishing new connections between ourselves, society and the universe, getting real pleasure from this. To want not what the consumer society imposes on us every second - new things, cars, entertainment, food, but the achievement of new degrees of freedom. First of all, freedom of spiritual, intellectual and creative. “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is useful; everything is permissible for me, but nothing should possess me,”said the Apostle Paul. And he was right.
"Why on earth would a person change if we see that he is the same selfish and not too far-sighted creature as he was thousands of years ago?" - an idle reader may well ask a question. Yes, for the same three reasons, we will answer, which have always pushed humanity along the road of progress: the instinct of self-preservation (we will not change - we will not survive), the desire for a better life (the very concept of “better life” will change) and curiosity (an unchanging category). This magical "troika" has always taken us out of any abyss. Will take it out now.
Akim Bukhtatov