Gorbachev: IT could learn from Pope John Paul II

Former Soviet president says technology is a means to reducing poverty, tapping resources and better developing the planet

The IT industry could stand to take 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 Union President Mikhail Gorbachev said Tuesday. 
 
 Earning profits and beating the competition shouldn't be the sole goals of advancing technology, Gorbachev said in a keynote address at a meeting of the Massachusetts Software Council here. Advocating John Paul II's view that the rich have an obligation to help the poor, Gorbachev called on IT and on U.S. leaders to develop partnerships with other nations, including with Russia, and to stop being fearful that IT in other countries will make inroads and offer stiff competition.
"Let us think not only about maximizing profits, let us think about the benefits for the future, let us think about future generations," Gorbachev said, through a translator. Gorbachev's 45-minute speech was laced with humor and wide-ranging references. He spoke of his relationship with former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the policies of current Russian President Vladimir Putin, and of perestroika, Gorbachev's economic, political and social restructuring program that was ultimately "interrupted" by a "cowboy" approach to the fledgling free-market economy, he said.
Gorbachev, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, went on to found the environmental organization Green Cross International in 1993, a year after he became president of the Gorbachev Foundation, which also is known as the International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies.
He was Soviet president when the Cold War ended and his policies ultimately led to the end of Communist party dominance and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which broke into independent states. He touched on the civil unrest and chaos attendant with those changes, but said that Russia continues to make great strides toward democracy and freedom for its citizens, as well as with its economy.
While the U.S. and Russia have developed a friendlier relationship in recent years, the U.S. still has some fears of Russia linked to the militaristic philosophy of the Cold War era, he said. U.S. industry and government also tends to consider Russia inferior, leading to inequitable partnerships, Gorbachev added. Throughout his speech, Gorbachev advocated partnerships between governments and companies, including the IT sector, from both nations.
"We should say farewell to that outdated [militaristic Cold War] philosophy. We should be looking at ways to work together," he said. However, the U.S. must allow Russia and its companies to have equal footing.
"Russia will not accept a position of junior partner," he said. "The partnership must be equal."
Such partnerships will foster a "secure, just and democratic world order," which Pope John Paul II called for during his years as leader of the Catholic Church, Gorbachev said. "The [current] state of global chaos is not good for anybody."
Military responses to terrorism and to world crises only cause further divisions, he said, leading to greater gaps between the rich and the poor. That growing gap serves to encourage the spread of terrorism, Gorbachev said.
IT can, and should, help bridge the divide, aiding in creation of a "new world order" that will be "more stable, more just and more humane," he said.
The Russian IT sector is working toward doing its part, Gorbachev said, citing work of the Russian software industry association, or RUSSOFT, and the country's development as an outsourcing center using India as a model. Technology parks are being developed in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and Russian republics are working cooperatively to foster the IT industry, he said. On a broader scale, Gorbachev supports a "united Europe" where governments and business interests work together on common goals.
Some in the U.S. don't like that idea because it could lead to stronger competition, he said. "Well, I think you should have competition, you need competition. If you don't have competition, what good is that," Gorbachev said, eliciting laughter and applause from the audience. Instead, world and business leaders should seize the chance to form partnerships that have a positive global effect.
"Let us not miss that opportunity," he said.

InfoWorld Media Group. April 12, 2005