Spiritual and ecological civilizational perspective: the value potential of young people in the Siberian context

Abstract

The authors of this article, relying on a set of Eurasian ideas, develop previously formulated ideas about the need for a global civilizational transformation from the currently dominant technogenic-consumer to the spiritual-ecological strategy of development. Within this perspective, Siberia is considered as a priority area of the Russian state policy. The general theoretical and methodological guidelines are supported by the results of a sociological survey of students of agricultural universities in the largest cities of Siberia. The novelty of the empirical research consists in its target setting to identify the value orientations of young people as a potential subject of civilizational transformations. The content core of the concrete study was a series of questions: Is there a passion reserve among Siberian youth? How important is the Siberian identity for her in the general system of identity? What is its socio-cultural potential? Do young people connect their personal future with Siberia? Do they accept the idea of a new civilizational structure based on the principles that are relevant to our time, and are they ready to contribute to its approval? The results of the study do not provide a clear answer to the initial questions. On the one hand, the sociocultural potential of young people, expressed in the system of value orientations, largely corresponds to the fundamental principles of the spiritual and ecological strategy of civilizational development. At the same time, many students are carriers of a pronounced Siberian identity, are aware of and highly appreciate the rich natural resources of Siberia and the human potential that exists here. On the other hand, the majority of young people are not ready for active creative actions, they do not form a passionate group that has the necessary ideas about the prospects for the development of the country, about the role of Siberia in creating the civilizational future of Russia. This is largely due to the fact that the state itself does not have a clear global civilizational project and image of the future.