Futurists suggest key to fairer world

The Russian Cosmism school of thought prioritizes concept of people uniting for a common goal, a panel in Moscow agreed

A Russian school of thought that has focused on humankind's relationship with space could offer solutions to current global crises, a panel of experts agreed during an event at this week’s ‘Inventing the Future’ forum in Moscow.

At the panel discussion on Monday, historians and futurists considered how Russian Cosmism and one of its main concepts, uniting for a common task, could help influence decisions internationally to shape a fairer future.

“Modern society is going through horrific changes, facing crises and looking for solutions. One such solution lies in the ideas of Russian Cosmism,” philosopher Tatiana Batyr said.

Russian Cosmism is a school of thought that gained prominence in the early 20th century, inspired by the new wonders of space technology and exploration. It sought to create a united humanity worthy of governing the universe. Russian aerospace engineer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a founding father of modern rocket science, was among its most prominent thinkers.

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For a long time, the idea of space travel seemed improbable; however, Tsiolkovsky and the founder of Russian Cosmism Nikolay Fedorov believed that this could be achieved when people united.

“The scientists believed [at the time] that we must first… eradicate wars, violence and inequality, and after that we can lay claim to space exploration,” noted historian Boris Prokudin.

The ideas of Russian Cosmism could help achieve global unity, as Russia enables different traditions and peoples to coexist peacefully, based on common values of justice and morality, Serbian researcher Miroslav Ivanovic argued. The philosophy could be accepted in other countries with an ancient culture, such as China and India, he added.