25.05.2020

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: If sometimes we demand the right to life for all, we will be heard

I don’t know if it is possible to congratulate our readers on the end of boring self-isolation. It is just amazing how easy the new disease – which is still not the most aggressive and murderous known to man - has brought the world economy to its knees. Yes, but if only the economy!

The ease with which the pandemic knocked out mankind only speaks of how unreliable the former, prematurely dilapidated world, built on the principles of false liberalism and rampant consumption, turned out to be. It is not surprising that from the very beginning of the pandemic many began to prophesy world’s end and outline the contours of our near future.

 

As usual in such cases, predictors disagreed on everything. Some futurologists paint the future in rather gloomy colours: total surveillance of citizens by the state, further social stratification and the disappearance of the middle class and other horrors up to the onset of neo-feudalism under the auspices of transnational corporations.

Others, on the contrary, foresee a continuous dawn caused by a forced, albeit long-awaited transition to new, primarily digital technologies. In the new world, people who have received distance education will work remotely in innovative and scientific organizations. The sharply reduced bureaucratic apparatus will go almost under the direct control of society, and personal and corporate reputation will become the most reliable capital.
Forecasts’ authors are sure that a forced shutter will change the world.
Frankly, I do not support any of these forecasts. Here are two main reasons. First, the world is constantly changing, albeit one can hardly notice it. The expression "wake up in another world" is quite popular, but this is an exaggeration. There are signs of the future that pessimists fear, and signs that optimists are waiting for, before the pandemic, but none of them will come true.
But, secondly, and most importantly is the question: what have we done to change this world? St. Seraphim of Sarov is credited with saying: "Save yourself, and thousands around you will be saved." It is like waiting for the world to change before the people themselves have changed.
I have repeatedly said that a couple of months of self-isolation are a great opportunity to change. To do self-education, strengthen the brain, playing chess or to find yourself a good hobby. True, this advice is useful for those who do not need to rack their brains daily on how to feed their families during the regime of self-isolation and whether there will be work after quarantine.  One thing is for sure: we would not live as before. So what to do? Even before the start of the self-isolation, I wrote for my website: “The COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed that the old world no longer exists, its final destruction is only a matter of time. But perhaps for the first time in history, we can make an informed choice of how we will continue to live. ” And I still adhere to this position.
My regular readers know that I consider the recognition of the right to life to be a priority not only for further development, but also for the very existence of humanity. It’s time to understand that we are all interconnected, both among ourselves and with the whole nature surrounding us. Therefore, the happier the people around us are, the better it will be for each of us.
And I am sure that if the majority of people require the leadership of their countries to recognize the right to life as the fundamental priority for domestic and international politics, politicians will have no choice but to follow such demand.
I do not lose optimism. You just have to strive for this. On a daily basis. And if sometimes we demand the right to life for all, we will be heard.