Gorbachev Claims IT Industry Can Learn From Pope John Paul II
The IT industry could learn a lesson from the late Pope John Paul II and realize that technology is key to helping people out of poverty, saving resources and labor, and developing the planet in a better way.
Apr 13, 2005
The IT industry could learn a lesson from the late Pope John Paul II and realize that technology is key to helping people out of poverty, saving resources and labor, and developing the planet in a better way, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said at a meeting of the Massachusetts Software Council in Boston.
Advocating the Pope’s view that the rich have an obligation to help the poor, he called on IT and on U.S. leaders to develop partnerships with other nations, including Russia, and to stop being fearful that IT in other countries will make inroads and offer stiff competition, U.S. media reported.
"Let us think not only about maximizing profits; let us think about the benefits for the future; let us think about future generations," Gorbachev went on. He also noted that the growing gap between the rich and the poor serves to encourage the spread of terrorism.
Although Russia and the U.S. have developed friendlier relations in recent years, the U.S. has to get rid of its fears that Russia is linked to the militaristic philosophy of the Cold War era. "Russia will not accept a position of junior partner," Gorbachev stressed. "The partnership must be equal."
Such co-operation will foster a "secure, just and democratic world order," which is what Pope John Paul II called for during his years as the leader of the Catholic Church, he said.
In his opinion, the IT industry can and should help to create a "new world order" that will be "more stable, more just and more humane".
As Gorbachev told the meeting, the Russian IT sector is working toward doing its part. It is being developed as an outsourcing center using India as a model. Technology parks have been opened in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and Russian republics are working cooperatively to foster the industry, he said. On a broader scale, Gorbachev supports a "united Europe" where governments and business interests work together toward common goals.
Mikhail Gorbachev was the president of the Soviet Union when Cold War ended, and his policies ultimately led to the end of Communist Party dominance and to the dissolution of the USSR, which broke into independent states.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, founded the environmental organization Green Cross International in 1993, and a year later became president of the Gorbachev Foundation, which is also known as the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies.
Advocating the Pope’s view that the rich have an obligation to help the poor, he called on IT and on U.S. leaders to develop partnerships with other nations, including Russia, and to stop being fearful that IT in other countries will make inroads and offer stiff competition, U.S. media reported.
"Let us think not only about maximizing profits; let us think about the benefits for the future; let us think about future generations," Gorbachev went on. He also noted that the growing gap between the rich and the poor serves to encourage the spread of terrorism.
Although Russia and the U.S. have developed friendlier relations in recent years, the U.S. has to get rid of its fears that Russia is linked to the militaristic philosophy of the Cold War era. "Russia will not accept a position of junior partner," Gorbachev stressed. "The partnership must be equal."
Such co-operation will foster a "secure, just and democratic world order," which is what Pope John Paul II called for during his years as the leader of the Catholic Church, he said.
In his opinion, the IT industry can and should help to create a "new world order" that will be "more stable, more just and more humane".
As Gorbachev told the meeting, the Russian IT sector is working toward doing its part. It is being developed as an outsourcing center using India as a model. Technology parks have been opened in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and Russian republics are working cooperatively to foster the industry, he said. On a broader scale, Gorbachev supports a "united Europe" where governments and business interests work together toward common goals.
Mikhail Gorbachev was the president of the Soviet Union when Cold War ended, and his policies ultimately led to the end of Communist Party dominance and to the dissolution of the USSR, which broke into independent states.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, founded the environmental organization Green Cross International in 1993, and a year later became president of the Gorbachev Foundation, which is also known as the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies.