The Soviet Union, in the final analysis, experienced its tragedy because democracy was suppressed as a matter of principle over a long period of time.

Humanity cannot be simply a community constantly seeking to survive; sooner or later this approach will lead to catastrophe. It must become a community of progress for everyone–for North and South, East and West, for countries that are now highly developed as well as those that are relatively deprived.

We need to replace a civilization that produces without thinking, that is exhausting the natural resources on which its existence depends, with a civilization that constantly reproduces the conditions required for its existence, accumulating and not destroying the potential for future development.

A return to age-old, spiritual, moral, life-affirming values, to a humanist and genuinely optimistic worldview is one of the decisive tasks of our era. It is a universal human task. A global one.

The twenty-first century and the entire coming millennium will be an era of universal tragedy if human solidarity does not gain the upper hand over the widespread contempt for the human race itself and the indifference to the fates of millions.

For the first time in history we face the challenge of defending human existence itself, not just saving the lives of individuals or nations.

Marx’s formula that revolutions are the locomotives of history was very much in vogue for a long time and remains so even today. Nevertheless this formula is worth rethinking. Have revolutions really been the locomotives of forward or upward movement by society? Or have they been extreme solutions to situations in which the ruling powers were incapable of solving problems that had come to a head while the masses were no longer able to endure the existing situation?

The human race today is spending enormous resources to provide the means of existence, even the most basic ones. The quantity of resources being expended is growing because human needs are constantly expanding and are even being artificially cultivated. This is occurring at the expense of resources that are increasingly necessary to solve other vital tasks, tasks that are being posed with ever increasing urgency. This is an abnormal development.

I am convinced that the world today would be living more peacefully if the Soviet Union–of course in a renewed and reformed version–had continued to exist.

Practice has shown that the UN has functioned most efficiently when all its members–certainly not just the permanent members of the Security Council–demonstrated unity of will and intention, and sought to achieve specific, realistic goals. This is exactly what we should strive for today.

Let us establish, under UN auspices, a kind of permanent worldwide brain trust (or “council of the wise”). This would consist of people having no government duties and who are free of any ideological or other preconceptions or prejudices, people who are capable of objectively evaluating the new phenomena in world developments and translating their conclusions into practical recommendations.