Many problems that were extremely urgent in the past 20th century have not lost their severity in our days. Moreover, new problems were added to them, relating to literally all aspects of life: politics, healthcare, demography, the economy, interethnic relations, etc. Which of these topics can be considered the most significant?
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1
Military conflicts and the geopolitical struggle for spheres of influence are the most pressing topics of the present. After the horrors of World War II, the very idea that people can still resolve conflicts and controversial situations on the battlefield seemed absurd. However, in the second half of the 20th century, many wars happened - from short-term to very protracted, large-scale ones. Some of them were accompanied by exceptional bitterness of the warring parties and large-scale civilian casualties. Alas, at the beginning of the 21st century, armed conflicts are a sad reality. The situation is aggravated by the fact that in many cases these conflicts occur with the direct or indirect participation of great powers or military-political blocs if their geopolitical interests are affected. The most illustrative examples are the civil war in Syria, as well as the conflict in Ukraine, which began in November 2013 of the year.
2
Of course, the likelihood of a full-scale armed conflict between, for example, Russia and the NATO bloc is small (due to the presence of a deterrent in the form of arsenals of thermonuclear weapons). However, such a danger still exists.
3
A very topical issue remains economic crises, the problem of employment (especially among young people). And this applies even to those countries that until relatively recently considered very prosperous. For example, among the EU member states, Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal have very acute economic problems.
4
In many countries of the Third World, extremely acute problems are: a chronic lack of food and clean drinking water, as well as ethnic and tribal conflicts, a high level of crime and terrorism. This is especially true for countries such as Somalia, Chad, Mali, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen and several others.
5
An extremely urgent problem in many states is overpopulation, especially against the background of a low standard of living for the prevailing mass of people. The high birth rate in these countries automatically entails a number of problems that only exacerbate the already difficult situation. Examples include countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and many other countries. In some states, there is a high level of unemployment, a low level of intelligence.
6
The environmental issue is still very serious. Although in some countries a lot of attention is paid to environmental issues. In many cities, “aging” has become a serious problem. The proportion of older people is growing steadily, while the working-age population is declining, with all the ensuing negative consequences. First of all, this applies to Japan and China. Finally, the acute problem is the issues of health, inaccessibility of quality medical care for so many people.
