Where are we heading? Contemplating the future united multipolar world

Dear organizers of the Global Conference on Multipolarity.

Dear colleagues, friends from all over the world,

Thank you for your participation in this conference and for inviting me to join you.

I am Cuban, and above all else I stand for uniting the world through multipolarity.

We must be reasonable in order to save our beautiful blue planet from disappearing. We should do everything possible to prevent the unipolar world, dominated by the Roman principle of "divide and conquer," from completely taking over and letting one country enforce its imperial agenda on the others while ignoring our opinion.

The unipolar world is full of global issues leading us toward the apocalypse. Coronavirus, wars, and militarism have undermined the network of international relationships. Countries undergoing different development stages are facing a growing economic crisis: commerce systems are being disrupted, communication between people is becoming restricted, there is an on-going infodemic and the telecom industry is flooded with fakes.

What can we do about it? What is the future going to be like? What could international connections be like between countries in different stages of economic development? What is the outlook for the countries of the South? What is going to happen to social justice? Will we live in peace, or will the bell toll and the whole world will be engulfed by war? These questions are a concern for us all.

One must bear in mind that Christopher Columbus reaching our Latin American shores in 1492 led to a new era in the history of humanity. Life began changing rapidly, and the world became engaged in economic, political and cultural exchange. The so-called meeting of the two cultures was nothing short of an act of conquest. And nobody could have imagined the way the world would change 531 years later.

Another noteworthy event that has led up to the upcoming changes is the First Industrial Revolution. It was a process of economic, social, and technological transformation that started in the second half of the eighteenth century in Great Britain, and within a few decades spread to most of Western Europe and North America, ending around 1820-1840. This period brought about the largest number of economic, technological, and social transformations that history has seen since ancient times. Humanity moved from an agrarian economy, based largely on agriculture and trade, to one relying on urbanization, industrialization, and mechanization.

Here are some of the major technological developments of that era: implementation of James Watt's steam engine in a variety of industries, advancement in shipbuilding and railroad transportation, invention of the combustion engine and electric power engineering, etc.

This industrial development produced several new social groups (classes): workers and peasants living in poverty, along with the bourgeoisie, who possessed both the means of production and a much larger share of all the revenue and funds.

This new social divide led to problems with the life of society and working conditions, grassroots protests and new ideologies such as syndicalism, anarchism and socialism, which were used to demand improvements in the conditions of the disadvantaged classes.

The Second Industrial Revolution featured a series of interconnected social and economic transformations that unfolded from about 1870 to 1914, the year that signaled the beginning of World War I. The pace of the transformation was dramatically accelerated during this period. The industrialization process shifted in its nature, while economic growth rates fluctuated between different economic models. The scale and structure of technological advancements alongside changes in commerce maintained their incredible evolution pace.

Engineering innovations were mainly devoted to the development of new energy sources: gas, oil, and electricity. New materials and transportation systems (airplanes and automobiles) as well as communication systems (telephone and radio) were developed. All this triggered a chain reaction in working conditions, education and science, production (changing the scale and methods of production) and organization of labor. People began using new materials such as steel, zinc, aluminum, nickel, manganese, chromium, and copper.

The rapid development of the chemical industry entailed the appearance of soda, sodium bicarbonate and artificial dyes based on coal, such as tar and benzol. New explosive substances such as cellulose nitrate and nitroglycerin were discovered, and dynamite was invented.

A high demand for chemicals resulted in the development of chemical (synthetic) fertilizers. Superphosphates and sodium nitrate started being produced, with the latter being made from mineral nitrates sourced from Antarctica. Other mineral elements essential to plants, for example, potassium fertilizer, also began to be synthesized.

Yet this dynamic epoch also features the emergence of imperialism, as Lenin put it in reference to the Cuban-Spanish-American conflict (the first imperialist war in history). Unipolarity, albeit very different from the current political narrative, began taking shape from that moment of human history. Another key development that occurred in this era was the Great October Socialist Revolution, which brought about a new paradigm: a new economic, political, and social system was established as the first opposition to the budding unipolar world.

We will not discuss whether the revolution was a blessing, a failure, or a mistake. What matters is that this revolution, and later the USSR and the Communist bloc, were able to suppress the imperial ambitions. The world was saved from self-destruction, which the war unleashed by nationalist and fascist extremism across the globe had condemned it to, and the world remained bipolar. Nonetheless, some people suggest that the world was tripolar, referring to the emergence and development of national liberation movements in different parts of the world.

The downfall of the Communist bloc and the collapse of the USSR were devastating for humanity, as the U.S. imperialists utilized the mistakes made by the USSR and attempted to turn the United States into the world gendarme. And they succeeded in many ways, despite the opposition from socialism (represented by China, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba) and the progressive movements.

The imperialists dominated the world, pushing their interests, and unilateralism progressed in spite of the revolutionary efforts. May unilateralism live on in the world: may there be more suffering, famine, conflict, state terrorism, xenophobia, and, of course, brutal neoliberalism. Any country that did not follow the imperialists' dogmas and went against their plans became their enemy. Ideologies no longer mattered, the only thing that did was the imperial rule. Every passing day seemed to make the vision of the Global South more and more elusive.

The Third Industrial Revolution - known as the scientific and technological revolution - commenced in 2006. This revolution, also referred to as the "Intellectual Revolution" or the "Third Technological Revolution," is believed by the experts to have originated from a new fusion of scientific and technological ideas.

It was characterized by new communication models, their transformation, and the achievement of convergence of advanced communications, the Internet and new types of renewable energy sources.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is distinguished by a range of new technologies that merge the physical, digital, and biological worlds, influencing all disciplines, economy and industry, and even challenging beliefs about the significance of human beings. The major innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution include: the Internet of Things, collaborative robots, augmented reality, virtual reality, big data, 3D and 4D printing, robotics, nanotechnology and 5G.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not taking place in just one country, but all over the world: some countries are influenced in a positive way while others are becoming more and more dependent with each passing day (a new wave of colonization). In a nutshell, this time the rapid development of production forces has further widened the disconnect between the processes of production relations.

As we hear daily on the news, the global crisis affects more than just finances, it also impacts cultural processes, the environment and, of course, most important of all: the economy and the global health system, which have been brought to the verge of collapse after the pandemic. Is it possible to create a united multipolar world under such circumstances? Of course not, multipolarity is not merely about technological development, it is about cultural development as a universal human experience, which includes creating opportunities for a great number of disadvantaged people.

Climate change is yet another universal problem, which is characterized by rising or falling temperature norms, recurring wildfires over vast forested territories, rising sea levels, melting of polar icecaps and other natural phenomena indicative of an out-of-balance ecosystem.

The practically total monopolization of the Internet allows the North American empire to gain near-total control of the world. Warfare shifts from reality to virtual space, and cyberterrorism is spreading in almost every region of the world.

The empire has made lies look like the truth. And now the world became so full of lies that the truth no longer has any value.

Xenophobia is a dangerous phenomenon in modern international relations, which has already had a considerable impact and is becoming increasingly widespread. A new wave of xenophobia is sweeping across countries that have always practiced it, with xenophobes assuming positions of power or the far-right leader allowing them to hold leadership positions in their countries, both at the regional and at the international level.

The new powers such as China, Russia, India, Iran, and others create a kind of obstacle to global domination in the way of imperialist countries. The imperialist countries, primarily the U.S., view the involvement of Russia and China, the most populous country in the world, as a threat, due to how openly they express their position (increasing territorial expanse and military development level) as well as due to the systematic development of their economies.

We have to seek out methods of creating a new narrative and a different, multipolar paradigm that will help us change our way of thinking. So, let us strive for an honest world without hypocrisy, a unity transcending borders. Let us look for a way out of this labyrinth of unipolarity. Cooperation within a multipolar world is a utopia that we must strive for, and we already have all the conditions to achieve this today.

It is difficult to predict what the new world order will be like in a few decades. However, life has shown us that crises bring about new paradigms. The Roman empire lasted for so many years crushing other nations, but it was its own power that destroyed it from within.

Modern day empires will eventually fall, despite how impossible that may seem today. There is a way out of even the most complex labyrinths. It is possible to escape the empire surrounding us. Through optimism, the will to fight and creating the right conditions we can create a new paradigm. This is what I believe in, and I urge everyone to reflect on it and take action.

Science and technology are bringing progress to large, wealthy countries while deteriorating the economies of small countries and, crucially, disrupting the balance of ecosystems, endangering the human species itself. People are just beginning to recognize this, even though climate change is already affecting some regions through severe droughts, floods, rising sea levels, new diseases and widespread poverty.

And just imagine what the future holds for us? I suppose what I am about to say is presumptuous and somewhere illogical, but I am optimistic nonetheless. I believe that there will be no single ruler of the world. We are going to live in a world where everything is interconnected and real shared interests take priority.

I am not suggesting that the end of the world is upon us, just encouraging you to think of what will happen if we go down the road of selfishness, ignorance, and departure from the principles of humanism and solidarity.

Bringing international attention through any means necessary is something people who have been stabbed in the back by their neighbors, who fight like scientists against a virus of misunderstanding in their laboratories using intellect and humanism, as well as politicians, intellectuals, community leaders and scientists seeking a better world for our descendants, should do. I am sending this message from a small island that has been under a cruel blockade for more than 60 years. We are still struggling for a way to move forward. Life has shown us that we are capable of overcoming obstacles. "Unity in Diversity" should be our motto. We should continue looking for things that unite us in order to achieve a united multipolar world.

I could go on and on about this matter forever, since there are so many still undiscovered phenomena that are a part of our world and, especially, of international relations. As the scientific and technological world continues to evolve, it makes understanding economic, political, cultural and social problems more and more difficult which becomes even more pronounced whenever the one in power takes advantage of that.

There will be many more global problems if no trust is established between the states. And there is still a long way to go, especially as the struggle for geopolitical influence is growing more intense by the day.

Either the world will perish as a result of some countries' egoism, or large or regional alliances will be forged to contribute to improving the economics, politics, and social conditions of their participants and even share the results of their development equally.

Multipolarity is paving its own way. One country can no longer be the supreme ruler. Alliances can truly govern the world and cooperate on policies only if the opinions of other developed countries or of countries with a different level of development are taken into account. Without that, humankind will be destroyed by a variety of conflicts, be they nuclear confrontations or world wars.

We should not underestimate the threat to life on this planet. Coronavirus, persistent and new conflicts have exposed shortcomings of human culture and ethics. There is no questioning all the ungratefulness, defamation, lies and egoism. Yet at the same time, developed and developing countries have shown humanism, set examples of modesty and selflessness. But this is not enough: we must call for rationality, for the creation of a united multipolar system, alien to hegemony, so that our beautiful blue planet does not perish. Let us remember the Latin saying: Alea iacta est - The die is cast.

Thank you very much.