Part 3. Ecological Revolution

There is a well-known saying: “Generals are always preparing for the last war.”

These words are attributed to the outstanding British statesman Sir Winston Churchill. He was referring to a practical and entirely objective fact: when preparing for possible conflicts, military commanders rely on their past experience. In other words, they truly prepare for the “previous war,” because no experience of a future, possible war yet exists.

The meaning of the saying is simple and always relevant: in a changing world, models of action that were successful in the past most often prove unsuitable for the future.

Right now, the world is facing an ecological crisis. No one disputes its existence. The only questions concern the extent to which the ecological crisis is “man-made,” how much of it is caused by anthropogenic factors, and how much results from natural cycles or similar causes independent of human civilization.

At the same time as the ecological crisis, a socioeconomic crisis is also unfolding. Some speak of a new “technological paradigm,” while others speak of a “singularity” with entirely unpredictable consequences. In general, the existence of this purely human crisis is likewise disputed by no one. The debate and discussion concern only its causes and possible consequences.

Crisis (from the Ancient Greek κρίσις — judgment, verdict, decision; turning point) — an upheaval, a period of transition, a breaking point, a condition in which the existing means of achieving goals become inadequate, resulting in unpredictable situations.

In general, it is not difficult to assume that the ecological and social crises we are observing are actually parts of a single integrated process.

The proposed Concept of Territories of Full Ecological Tranquility assumes that the creation of such large-scale ecological reserve zones is a key action required to resolve the existing planetary crisis, which includes both a social (“human”) dimension and an ecological (“natural”) dimension.

The following facts form the basis for understanding and substantiating the proposed Concept:

1. Humanity has fully developed the entire planet.

2. A demographic transition is taking place, accompanied by a sharp decline in the rate of human reproduction.

3. Tools have emerged for processing vast amounts of information, making it possible to conduct observations and synthesize scientific data on a planetary scale across the entire history of scientific research.

Various solutions are being proposed to resolve the crisis whose existence is acknowledged by everyone. Yet none of these “solutions” truly resolves the problems for one reason: they are all based on past experience.

It is probably no secret that social systems contain certain structures of governance. In simplified terms, there are two main types of such structures: states and transnational corporations (TNCs), which function as “states without territory.” It is also no secret that states and TNCs are governed by a kind of conditional “board of directors.” The “employees of the enterprise” have only limited and largely formal influence. Nevertheless, they do have some influence — for example, through trade unions or by creating public demand within society.

This is extremely important for the following reason: all existing governing structures and administrations consist of professionals. These are people with specialized education who were trained to act in a particular way. The higher their rank within the system of governance, the more administrative experience they possess and, as a rule, the older they are. A simple example helps illustrate this: journalists described the confrontation between Biden and Trump during the 2024 United States presidential election as a “wheelchair race.” Donald Trump was 78 years old. Joe Biden was 81.

This produces a contradiction at the foundation of every system of governance in every society: professionals are trained through the experience of the past, and during any crisis they continue to act in familiar ways, driving the crisis toward complete catastrophe.

The solution to a problem is always born among non-professionals. Among, figuratively speaking, “students” — those whom no one would ever allow to govern under any circumstances. This contradiction explains why crises are so often resolved through revolutions: a painful and extremely costly path for society.

Revolution (from the Late Latin revolutio — “rotation, upheaval, transformation, return”) — a fundamental transformation, a sudden leap from one qualitative state to another. Revolutions may occur:

• in the political sense — a fundamental transformation in the life of society, a sudden change in the social or political system, occurring through either peaceful or violent means;

• in the economic sense — a major change in the way economic activity is organized, the emergence of new tools, an increase in productive forces, and a transformation of production relations (the Neolithic Revolution, the Industrial Revolution);

• in culture (a cultural revolution);

• in science (a scientific revolution);

• in technology (a scientific and technological revolution).

Thus, globalized society is currently undergoing an “ecological revolution.” The term “ecological revolution” is preliminary. It is highly approximate and is intended to emphasize the priority of the conflict between Humanity and the planet’s Biosphere — the dominant role of this Nature–Humanity conflict within the existing complex crisis.

Yet the institutions that govern societies, including scientific institutions, are not even capable of understanding this, because they are controlled by models of governance inherited from the past.

The purpose of the proposed Concept is to create opportunities for finding genuine ways to resolve the existing planetary crisis, as opposed to inherently unviable models based on the outdated industrial-technological, mechanistic approach.