Discovering the Future of
Human Ecosystems
AltVerse8 Foundation pioneers research into new generation lifestyles and ecosystem building, creating pathways to innovative communities.
Our Research Focus
We explore the intersection of technology, community, and human behavior to understand emerging lifestyle patterns.
Community Dynamics
Understanding how new generation communities form, interact, and evolve in digital environments.
Ecosystem Building
Researching sustainable models for creating thriving online communities and digital ecosystems.
Future Lifestyles
Analyzing emerging lifestyle trends and their impact on society, work, and human connections.
Our Mission
To conduct groundbreaking research that illuminates the path toward sustainable, innovative online communities. We believe that understanding new generation lifestyles is crucial for building the digital ecosystems of tomorrow.
"The future belongs to those who understand how communities can thrive in digital spaces while maintaining authentic human connections."
Our Vision
Envisioning a future where digital communities and human connection seamlessly integrate to create thriving ecosystems.
Building Tomorrow's Communities Today
We envision a world where online village become the foundation of human interaction, where technology amplifies rather than replaces authentic connections, and where new generation lifestyles create sustainable, inclusive ecosystems that benefit all participants.
Digital-First Communities
We believe the future of human organization lies in digital-first communities that transcend geographical boundaries while maintaining local relevance and personal connection.
- Global reach with local impact
- Authentic relationship building
- Sustainable engagement models
Generational Understanding
Understanding how different generations interact with technology and community is essential for creating inclusive digital environments that serve everyone.
- Cross-generational bridge building
- Adaptive communication patterns
- Inclusive design principles
Our Vision Timeline
2024-2026: Foundation Research
Establish core research methodologies and initial community studies
2027-2029: Pilot Communities
Launch experimental online village and test ecosystem models
2030+: Scaling Impact
Expand successful models and influence broader digital community development
Key Concepts
The "8Q" Model
PhQ — Physical Quotient
Cultivating balance, vitality, and respect for the body as the foundation of life.
IQ — Intelligent Quotient
Sharpening the mind through learning, reasoning, and critical thinking.
EQ — Emotional Quotient
Awakening emotional intelligence to navigate and transform inner and outer challenges.
SoQ — Social Quotient
Building authentic relationships and nurturing collaboration within society.
SpQ — Spiritual Quotient
Exploring purpose, inner peace, and the transcendental aspects of existence.
LQ — Love Quotient
Embodying compassion, empathy, and unconditional love in everyday life.
MQ — Mission Quotient
Aligning personal strengths and values with a purpose-driven life mission.
XQ — Unrealised Quotient
Uncovering hidden potential and unexplored talents waiting to emerge.
Together, these eight quotients form a holistic blueprint for conscious living, transformative action, and a harmonious future.
Online Village
Digital communities with village-like characteristics
Online village represent digital communitie that embody the intimacy, trust, and mutual support found in traditional village while leveraging technology to transcend physical limitations. These communities focus on sustainable relationships and shared values.
Intimacy
Small-scale, personal connections
Trust
Reputation-based relationships
Support
Mutual aid and collaboration
Ecosystem Building
Creating sustainable digital environments
Ecosystem building involves creating interconnected networks of communities, tools, and resources that support each other. This approach emphasizes sustainability, growth, and mutual benefit across all participants.
Core Components
- Community platforms
- Shared resources
- Governance systems
Success Metrics
- Member retention
- Value creation
- Community health
New Generation Lifestyles
Emerging patterns of living and working
Understanding how newer generations approach work, relationships, and community participation is crucial for designing relevant digital ecosystems. These lifestyles often prioritize flexibility, authenticity, and meaningful connections.
Remote First
Location independence
Work-Life Balance
Holistic approach
Purpose Driven
Meaningful work
Community Focused
Collective impact
Research Blog
Insights, findings, and thought leadership from our ongoing research into digital communities and new generation lifestyles.
Introduction. What does it mean to be human?
You probably wondered what a person is and what it means to be a person?
Dmitry Miroshnykov
August 4, 2025
Introduction. What does it mean to be human?
Dmitry Miroshnykov
Our life is multifaceted, and during our life we face different situations and often simply do not know what to do, or we have questions such as why do we live, how to live a better life, why is the desire to acquire more an illusion and why are all such that buying more we do not become happy, and how can we be happy, what is happiness, etc. Unfortunately, we are not taught this at school, and it rarely happens that parents explain it to us, simply because they themselves are consumed with these questions. So, in this book we will try to understand the question of what life is and what it means to be a person. And in order to enter into a discussion with you, we have created several of our basic concepts and principles that we use ourselves and are ready to share with you. In front of you you see a graph where there is a horizontal line - time, and a diagonal - keys. We will talk about them now. We called this graph "Leadership of the social and economic model" why leadership - because leadership is the impetus for human development, but this leadership also happens and was different, at different times in different eras, there were definitions of types of leadership that we will talk about now. What is leadership? Each person understands it in his own way, but each person wants to be successful or achieve his goals and be happy. But let's ask ourselves what true leadership means? Does leadership mean power? Does it mean that if we have a lot of money, we are leaders? Or are there some other characteristics of leadership? An ordinary modern person now strives to earn more money and thus become a leader, and no, we are not trying to make you give up the desire to have a lot, we are talking about the fact that leadership has different levels, and not only in terms of money. Everyone wants to be happy and successful. But how do we understand the word "success" in the present time? To have a lot of money, yes, our system is designed that way, but often in pursuit of money, we lose ourselves, and in the end we simply come to burnout, forgetting about ourselves. So let's look at what types of leadership exist and consider them from the point of view of the history and development of mankind and also the development of man himself. We all know what IQ is, we start with it because this concept is familiar to you. IQ is intelligence, it is our knowledge, intellectual abilities. And leadership here is that if someone is smarter, he is a leader. In history, we will consider here as the beginning of the 1st and 2nd industrial revolutions, because it was from that moment that the emergence of leadership began at the historical level. Of course, IQ has always been before that, but we will consider our modern period of time, which in one way or another influenced us. When the 1st and 2nd industrial revolutions took place, and then the third one, people began to work en masse in factories and ships, a rapid growth of education began in the field of IQ - steam technologies, engineering, and so on (here Dima needs to describe in more detail what was there and what it led to) this led us to the fact that people began to pay MORE attention to work, sit at home less, hence, unfortunately, problems with mental health began, unfortunately. But one way or another, the leadership at the world level was held by those countries whose IQ sphere was maximally developed - these are Western countries to a greater extent, and those countries that lagged behind in this regard - they did not become leaders, but were either their colonies or simply lagged very far behind the West. Thus, we see that the West became the LEADER precisely in the IQ sphere. Also at this time capitalism began to develop rapidly - capital, accumulation of capital, accumulation of money, and so on (the dollar as gold, etc.) and this greatly influenced the psychology of people - everyone began to strive to earn more, this became the meaning of life. This greatly changed the contribution of society. (More history is needed here) We all know what IQ is. We start with it because it is the only one of the four forms of intelligence that has received widespread recognition and has become the foundation of 20th century thinking. IQ is rational, logical-analytical intelligence. It is the ability to reason, operate with symbols, solve problems, accumulate knowledge and build systems. In the coordinate system of Western civilization, it is IQ that has become the measure of human value and the basis of leadership. The smarter one is the stronger one. The one who is able to organize, calculate and optimize is the one who manages. The birth of the IQ leadership era begins with the First and Second Industrial Revolutions that took place in Europe and America from the end of the 18th to the end of the 19th century. It was during this period that the first mass shifts in public consciousness occurred. Before this, people lived mainly an agrarian life, their thinking was cyclical, connected with nature, the rhythms of the earth and family tradition. Education, as an institution, was limited to the elite. But with the development of mechanization, the invention of the steam engine, the rapid growth of factories, railways and cities, a new type of thinking was born: linear, rational, focused on progress, control, competition and economic efficiency. Industrial revolutions take man out of his organic environment and place him in an ordered, rationalized, but alienated world of factories, machines, hierarchies. Thinking becomes more analytical, specialized, and fragmented - after all, in a factory you have to do only one part of a task, repeating it day after day. The phenomenon of "work thinking" appears, where precision rather than wisdom, productivity rather than integrity, is valued. Capitalism and the Birth of a New Worldview Industrial revolutions are closely linked to the rise of capitalism as the dominant economic and cultural order. Capitalism is not just an economy, it is a way of thinking in which accumulation becomes the goal and competition the main engine of progress. The term “capital” itself dates back to late medieval Europe, where trading and financial republics like Genoa, Florence, and Venice began to accumulate resources not only for the sake of war, but for investment and profit. However, capitalism in its mature form emerged in Great Britain in the 18th century and spread throughout the world with the rise of the British Empire and then the United States. With the transition to an industrial economy, the idea that man exists to produce, earn and consume appears for the first time. Money becomes a universal measure of success. This greatly changes the structure of desires: not to be, but to have; not to feel, but to achieve; not to live, but to work. In a society where IQ is king and capital is god, the emotional world of man begins to suffer. Psychological consequences Psychologically, this gives rise to phenomena that have become global problems today: alienation, chronic stress, a feeling of inner emptiness, an identity crisis. A person becomes a cog in the system, loses connection with himself, with nature, with his family and community. This became especially noticeable in the second half of the 20th century, when the ideology of "success" reached its limit: to be the best, to earn more, not to stop. But inner saturation disappeared. This became the basis for a surge in depression, anxiety disorders, existential crises. At the same time, the realization began that IQ alone is not enough. It helps build, but does not explain why. It can automate processes, but cannot answer questions of meaning. This became a turning point - when more and more people began to seek not only information, but also wisdom. Geopolitical implications: who became the leader Since the end of the 19th century and especially after the Second World War, countries that relied on the development of rational intelligence and technological power became global hegemons. The US, UK, Germany, France, Japan – they all invested in engineering education, research centers, digital technologies. This gave them power. Especially the US, which after 1944, thanks to the Bretton Woods system, made the dollar the world reserve currency. Thus, the power of the intellect was directly connected with the power of capital. The dollar became the new gold – not only because it was backed by gold and foreign exchange reserves (until 1971), but because it had the power of production, the army, technology and control over global institutions: the IMF, the World Bank, NATO. Industrial Revolutions and the Shaping of IQ-era Thinking The First Industrial Revolution (c. 1760–1840) Industrial revolutions became a turning point in human history, changing not only the economy and technology, but also the very type of thinking, the idea of man, labor and society. The first industrial revolution began in Great Britain in the middle of the 18th century and was marked by the transition from an agricultural and handicraft way of life to factory production. The textile industry became the center of technological change. At this time, machines were invented and introduced that radically accelerated the spinning and weaving process, such as the Spinning Jenny, the Water Frame, and later the mechanical loom. However, the truly epochal improvement was James Watt's improvement of the steam engine, which gave rise to the mechanization of production and transport. Industry began to concentrate in cities, which caused urbanization - a rapid growth of the urban population. Society entered a phase where the division of labor became the main principle of organizing production. A new social class emerged - workers, or proletariat, dependent on wages and subject to factory discipline. Not only production changed, but the way of thinking itself. The idea began to form that man is capable of controlling nature with the help of knowledge, science and technology. Knowledge began to be associated with power, with the ability to influence reality. A new sense of confidence in reason, in engineering thought, in a calculating approach to life appeared. This was the moment when intelligence – IQ in the technical, rational sense – began to turn into social and economic capital. The Second Industrial Revolution (1870–1914) If the first industrial revolution laid the foundations of industrial society, the second, which began a century later, dramatically increased the scale and speed of change. This wave swept not only Great Britain, but also the new leading powers: Germany, the United States of America, France. The key element was the introduction of electricity into everyday life and production. Inventions by scientists and engineers such as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla allowed the creation of power plants, lighting systems, and electric motors. At the same time, internal combustion engines appeared, which led to the creation of cars and aviation. Other technological innovations included the telephone (Alexander Bell), telegraph, and radio. The chemical industry developed rapidly, and the production of synthetic dyes, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals began. The conveyor system introduced by Henry Ford finally formed the industrial model of labor. On the economic level, this led to the emergence of transnational corporations, banks and stock exchanges, and the formation of a global economy accelerated. Production began to focus on mass consumption. Citizens began to buy things not only out of necessity, but also for the sake of status, convenience and taste - this was the birth of consumer culture. From a social point of view, during this period the middle class became stronger, the importance of urban education grew, and systems of schools and universities began to develop, focused on training specialists, primarily in the technical field. The thinking of the era was firmly rooted in the belief in rationality and progress. Man was thought of as the engineer of his own destiny. The cult of scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs - especially those who created something new and scalable - became a new form of social ideal. It was during this period that capital and intellect finally united: smart means successful, and successful means possessing power, influence and money. Industrial revolutions were not just technical shifts in human history — they were powerful transformers of the very way of thinking. It was during this period that an imperceptible but profound shift in the focus of human consciousness occurred: from natural rhythm and cultural intuition to rationality, systemicity and controllability. Man began to perceive time, labor, knowledge, nature and himself differently. In this shift, we can trace the formation of a new anthropology — man industrial, technical, calculating and focused on efficiency. Let us examine this influence in more detail. Changing the category of time: from natural rhythm to mechanical counting Before the Industrial Age, time was felt as something organic, built into nature. People lived in harmony with the cycle of day and night, the changing seasons, the farmer's calendar and religious holidays. But with the advent of factories, shift work, railroads and work schedules, time became "precise", "linear", measurable and subject to strict control. The era of chronometry began: watches became an obligatory attribute of workers and managers, and social life became increasingly dependent on schedules, deadlines and deadlines. This gave rise to a new way of thinking in which time began to be perceived as an economic resource. The expression “time is money” became not a metaphor but an axiom. This attitude transformed psychology: the internal perception of life became subordinated to the idea of productivity, acceleration and achievement. Instead of the endless repetition of natural cycles, man began to think in terms of linear progress: tomorrow should be better, faster, more efficient than today. Rethinking work and man as a function Before the industrial era, work was largely artisanal, personal, and linked to the holistic process of creation: a farmer worked a field from sowing to harvesting, a blacksmith forged a product from preparation to result. With industrialization, this holistic participation disappeared. A division of labor emerged: each worker performed one action in the flow of production. This principle, first systematized by Adam Smith and put into practice by Henry Ford, proved economically effective but anthropologically destructive. Man lost touch with the final product, stopped seeing the meaning of his work, found himself in the position of a function - an element in a mechanism. From the point of view of consciousness, this caused profound changes: discipline, standardization, subordination to a schedule and machines became not just a part of production, but also a part of the internal perception of oneself. The worker, employee, student began to be modeled after the image of a "cog" in a large system. As a result, consciousness began to form in the logic of normativity, external control and quantitative assessment (for example, productivity in hours). Rationalization of the world and the priority of scientific knowledge One of the central results of the industrial era was the triumph of rational thinking. The world increasingly began to be perceived as an object of study, analysis, measurement and, ultimately, management. Nature ceased to be sacred or divine, as in traditional cultures - it became a "resource". It can be measured, predicted, processed. What could be recorded in formulas received the status of the real. Everything else - mythological, intuitive, emotional - was pushed to the periphery. This gave rise to the dominance of technical and engineering consciousness. Science ceased to be the occupation of philosophers - it became the profession of engineers, technologists, inventors. Society began to focus on what could be produced, standardized, improved. Thinking increasingly approached the structural, systemic, algorithmic. Revaluation of man and nature In traditional cultures, nature was viewed as an animated, sacred environment in which man was part of the whole. After industrialization, a fundamental reassessment took place: man began to be viewed as a subject, and nature as an object. The resource-based view of the world became dominant. Forests, rivers, land — everything became subject to exploitation and technical transformation. The mechanistic picture of the world, which took shape in the 17th century, became a mass paradigm with industrialization. Man also began to be perceived through functionality. His value was measured not by spiritual or ethical qualities, but by the ability to calculate, process information, and perform operations. This became the basis for the elevation of intellect - primarily rational, logical, analytical - as the highest form of human dignity. Man in this new context is not a sage or a saint, but a machine operator, a system architect, a rational subject. Urbanization, individualism and competition One of the consequences of industrialization was mass urbanization. People left their clan, peasant, and collective structures and moved to cities. There, old social ties collapsed, and for the first time, people were faced with the need to determine their own destiny. This gave rise to modern individualism: people are for themselves, they create their own career, success, and biography. The idea of a social elevator, built on the basis of intellectual or professional superiority, emerged. An environment was formed in which success became directly linked to the level of education, skills, adaptability, and systemic thinking. Competition between individuals for resources and recognition intensified. This meant a reorientation of consciousness toward constant self-improvement, achievement, and comparison. People began to measure themselves on a scale of efficiency and success, rather than by the degree of rootedness in culture or ethics. Formation of the IQ paradigm At the intersection of all these changes, something was born that can be conventionally called the "IQ paradigm." This is not just an intelligence quotient as a psychological value, but a holistic way of thinking in which logic, analysis, speed of information processing, rationality, systemic planning, and the ability to optimize prevail. The heroes of the new era are engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and innovators. If in traditional societies the cult figures were prophets, warriors, or poets, now their place has been taken by technical specialists and strategists. Civilization has become oriented toward success built on calculation, intelligence, and possession of knowledge. Education, like business, has become a platform for the crystallization of this type of consciousness. Intelligence has become not just a feature, but a criterion of dignity and social significance. Conclusion Industrial revolutions transformed not only the economy and technology, but also the very fabric of human thought. Man began to perceive himself and the world differently. Instead of attunement with nature - control. Instead of contemplation - design. Instead of collective experience - individual achievement. Instead of sacred knowledge - applied rationality. It was on this basis that IQ rose as the dominant code of culture and civilization. This logic still underlies modern institutions: schools, corporations, states. And it was this logic that created the basis for the “generation gap” that humanity faced in the 21st century, when the intellectual paradigm faced an existential and spiritual crisis. Geopolitical leadership based on the dominance of logical-rational thinking – or what might be called a high-IQ civilization – was one of the key consequences of the industrial revolutions. Those countries that were quicker than others to integrate industrial, technical, scientific, and educational processes into the foundation of their state, economic, and social systems came to the forefront of the world stage. This was not just an economic upswing – it was a change in civilizational status. Western Leaders of the IQ Era The most prominent representatives of the new wave of IQ leadership were Great Britain, Germany, France, then the USA and Japan. Britain, as the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, pioneered machine production, steam transport and banking. Its geopolitical power – from trade to maritime expansion – was based not only on resources but also on the rational organization of production, logistics and finance. It built a global empire in which knowledge, technology and management became the main resources, not just armies or land. Germany, especially after its unification in 1871, quickly became an industrial power, relying on engineering precision, technical education and bureaucratic rationality. The German system of administration, logistics, military industry and science became the standard of the "rational state". The United States, which began as an agrarian country, by the end of the 19th century had used its vastness and immigrant potential to create a society in which IQ became the key social elevator. Mass education, venture capital, universities, and the industrialization of the West made America not just a land of opportunity, but a global laboratory of practical intelligence. Japan, having embarked on the path of modernization in the second half of the 19th century (the Meiji period), made an almost miraculous leap from a feudal system to a highly industrialized society, integrating Western technologies into the Asian cultural matrix. This was an example of the geopolitical mobilization of intelligence as a strategic resource. Countries remaining in the traditional matrix In contrast, those countries that failed to integrate into the rational industrial order—most of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America—found themselves on the periphery. Not because they lacked intelligence as such, but because their mentality and institutional structure remained agrarian-spiritual, caste-based, family-communal, or theocratic. Russia, China, the Ottoman Empire - all of them found themselves in a moment of civilizational lag, where traditional forms of power and culture could not quickly accept and reproduce the industrial order. As a result - colonialism, unequal treaties, political subordination and economic dependence. How it affected geopolitics and people's lives 1. Global redistribution of power: Technological superiority led to high-IQ countries dictating the rules of the world game – through industry, finance, transport, communications, and the military. They created international standards, currency systems, technical norms, and even ideologies (capitalism, liberalism, modernism). 2. Formation of the core and periphery: The world was divided into a core (IQ leaders) and a periphery (resource or labor markets). People on the periphery became either a source of cheap labor, a sales market, or suppliers of raw materials - while key decisions were made in London, Paris, Berlin, Washington. 3. Migration and educational centers: IQ leadership centers began to attract minds from all over the world. Mass migration to Europe and the United States was not only labor, but also intellectual. Those who received a Western education automatically entered the new elite of management and production. 4. Polarization of the world: A global stratification began, not only in the economy, but also in thinking. In some countries, inventors, engineers, rational managers were valued; in others, elders, chiefs, spiritual teachers, tribal leaders. This gave rise to a civilizational conflict, where Western values were perceived as a threat or an imposition. Bottom Line: Thinking as Geopolitical Strategy Thus, IQ in a broad sense – as the ability to think rationally, manage systems, design and optimize – has become not only a personal quality, but also a strategic resource for states. Those countries that were able to build institutions around this ability have become the hegemons of the new era. The geopolitical map of the 20th century was largely drawn not by armies, but by universities, laboratories, factories, and financial systems. And this is the profound result of the industrial era: whoever managed to integrate reason into the structure of the state became the architect of the global order. The industrial revolutions of the 19th century changed not only machines, cities, and the economy — they radically rebuilt the internal structure of man, his perception of time, meaning, himself, and the world. This shift is one of the key transformations in the history of consciousness. Man, who until recently lived in an agrarian culture, moved into the era of factories, systems, and rational discipline. Below is a portrait of the "average man" of that time, a resident of an industrially developing country: Great Britain, Germany, the USA. Thinking and perception of the world If agrarian man thought cyclically - how the seasons change, how rituals and holidays repeat, how each morning is like yesterday - then industrial man began to think linearly. He began to perceive time as a continuous movement forward, where each "tomorrow" is potentially better than "yesterday". This belief in progress, development and modernization penetrated all layers of thinking: from economics to raising children. The world ceased to be sacred. It became rational, accessible for measurement, description, and management. If earlier man was guided by nature, by the laws of God or the family, now he began to trust numbers, graphs, production standards, and technology. This formed a new paradigm of thinking — industrial-rational, in which not only knowledge was valued, but also its applied effectiveness. Goals and aspirations One of the key features of the new era was that man received – albeit illusory, but still – hope for a social lift. For the first time, a poor person could become wealthy, a worker could get a promotion, his son could go to college. Success became not only an opportunity, but also a requirement: industrial man began to perceive himself as a project that needed to be built, improved and disciplined. Personal goals were often formulated in practical terms: a stable job, a home of one's own, marriage, children, savings, perhaps a small business or a job as a foreman. Education became a symbol of the future: if you can read, count, follow instructions, you have a chance in the new economy. However, along with the hope of an upswing came new forms of pressure. Competition in the cities was fierce. People compared themselves to each other: who earned more, who fulfilled the norms more accurately, who advanced faster. This race created anxiety and eroded the old, communal forms of solidarity. Values and internal attitudes Traditional values - loyalty to the family, connection to the land, devotion to the ritual - were replaced by the values of work, order and rationality. Engineers, masters, accountants, doctors - became the new heroes of the time. It was considered honorable to be disciplined, punctual, precise. Time became a resource. Idleness - a sin. The morning began not with the rooster, but with the alarm clock. Work was perceived as a form of virtue: not only a means of survival, but also an expression of inner ethics. People were proud that they could provide for their families on their own, that they were "practical", "serious", "reliable". The family has also transformed. Whereas before it was part of a large clan or village community, now it has become a unit of consumption and labor. The husband is the breadwinner, the wife is the housewife, the children are the future. Everything is in order. Everything must work. However, with this came the dark side of rationality. The world became utilitarian: the value of a thing was determined by its usefulness. Anything that did not bring profit was suspect. Art, philosophy, religious reflections - faded into the background, if not disappeared altogether. Man lost some of his sensuality and contemplation, replacing them with calculation and productivity. Man and the system An industrial man is a man of the system. He saw the world as a mechanism in which everyone must perform their function. He perceived himself not as a unique phenomenon, but as a cog, as a gear in the huge machine of society. Personality began to be defined not by origin, as before, but by profession, income, social role. "Who are you?" meant not "whose son are you?" but "what do you do." For the first time in history, man began to make plans for the future based on calculation, not on the will of the gods or tradition. The belief emerged that if you make an effort, everything will be as you want. But at the same time, the guilt for failure increased: if you are poor, it is your fault, you did not try hard enough. Internal conflicts The man of the industrial era lived between two worlds. Inside him there still glimmered a connection with nature, with the irrational, with dreams. But outside, machines, norms, and technologies reigned. Two principles fought within him: the natural and the machine, the spiritual and the material, the personal and the systemic. He wanted to be "someone", but the system demanded that he be a "function". This conflict was not always recognized, but it gave rise to a feeling of emptiness, a loss of meaning. An era of ideologies began - socialism, nationalism, utopianism - all these are attempts to return meaning to a calculating and cold world. Conclusion Industrial man is a new being in history. He is disciplined, rational, pragmatic. He believes in knowledge, progress and technology. He works, builds, plans. He has subordinated nature and himself to the logic of production. But in this rationality he began to lose contact with his body, with nature, with his inner worlds. His life became orderly, but often lacking depth. He is the foundation of Western civilization of the 20th century, with its strength, technology, empires. But questions are already brewing inside him: what is all this for? where is progress leading? is there a limit to growth? There are three fundamental philosophical questions that permeate all human history and form the basis of every culture, ethic, and social organization. These questions are: 1. What does it mean to be human? 2. Who is the other person for me? 3. How can we live together? They not only set the coordinates of human identity, but also reflect the dominant logic of the era. During the industrial revolutions, especially within the framework of IQ-oriented thinking – rationality, technology, capital and efficiency – these questions acquired a different sound, deeply connected with the spirit of the times. What does it mean to be human? From the point of view of the logic of the IQ era, to be human meant to be rational, productive, useful. Human identity was increasingly associated not with an internal spiritual quest, not with the ethical dimension of the "I", but with the function that a person performs in the economic and social machine. In the industrial world, a person becomes a link in the production chain - he is an engineer, inventor, worker, entrepreneur, investor, administrator. He is not just a "person", he is a person as a resource. It was during this period that the idea of "human capital" was born: personal qualities, skills, intelligence, level of education - all this becomes part of its economic value. To be human means to be able to adapt to the market, to be useful in the conditions of accelerating technological progress. The thinking of the era is the thinking of a controlled world, in which reason (and its derivative - IQ) is called upon to organize the chaos of nature, human passions and society. Who is the other person for me? Another person in this system becomes not "You" in the philosophical sense, not an interlocutor, not a secret, not a neighbor, but an exchange partner. In the logic of capitalist thinking of the IQ era, another person is: Buyer Worker Client Supplier Competitor More and more, relationships between people are reduced to a function. Friendship, love, a team, even a family - all this begins to obey the principles of usefulness, profitability, rational calculation. The Other is the one through whom I can realize my goals: sell, produce, strengthen, exchange. This gives rise to alienation, a clear separation of the "I" from the "other", where the boundaries of personal space become thicker, and the need for trust - weaker. The image of a consumer person is formed in the social imagination. Not only do I perceive others through the prism of benefit - I myself become a commodity, a subject of exchange. The era of mass advertising, marketing, branding begins - including the human personality. How can we live together? Living together in the logic of the IQ era meant organizing society as efficiently as possible. Management systems, state institutions, armies, laws, education – everything was rebuilt in the image of a factory: control, standardization, discipline. International politics was dominated by the principle of force, trade, technology and capital. The term "developed countries" appears - that is, those who won the industrialization race. Politics becomes an arena of rational interests, where the main thing is resources, markets, strategic advantages. Colonialism, imperialism, world exhibitions and investment banks were not just a display of force, but a demonstration of the logic of IQ: if a country is smart, if it has developed science, technology, industry, it has the right to rule others. On a personal level, people also begin to "live together" differently: the idea of a city as a machine appears, where a person is a cog, where the flow of goods is more important than the flow of meanings. Relationships between people become regulated, formalized, controlled. Summary These three questions, rethought through the lens of IQ and industrial revolutions, have yielded a new paradigm of humanity: Man is a producer and bearer of capital. The other person is a functional partner in the exchange. Living together is a system of rational management. It was progress, but also a loss. The world became logical, convenient, powerful – but less warm, less human. Intellect replaced intuition, rationality obscured empathy, and profit replaced sacrifice. And the question of “how can we live together” is still looking for a new answer – beyond IQ.
August 5, 2025
Introduction. What does it mean to be human?
Dmitry Miroshnykov
This is not just an image, but a reality in which entire societies, cultures, and civilizations find themselves. We live in one of these moments — on the border between the old and the new, between the decline of one way of life and the search for the next. To understand the scale of what is happening, we need to ask deeper questions. One of them is: what is civilization? Our book is called “Civilization,” and for good reason. We are not talking about individual phenomena, but about the entire world order. Civilization is not just culture or technology. It is the general way of life of humanity, including peoples, countries, forms of government, ideas, values, religions, and ideologies. Today we are witnessing how modern global civilization is approaching its own generational fork. This is the key plot of our book. The West as the leading civilization of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Our era is defined by the fact that certain states – first and foremost, the United States and the collective West – have become leaders in most key areas: technological, cultural, political, economic. We call this Western civilization because it has set the benchmarks for the past decades. It is important to note that, regardless of whether the participating states were colonies or metropolises in the past, they today exist in the orbit of the influence of the Western system. This influence is not always direct, but it deeply penetrates the economy, politics, culture and even the way of thinking. Therefore, to understand why we have reached the current fork, we need to consider how Western civilization was formed, what ideas were embedded in it, what goals were set, and – most importantly – what mission it had at the beginning. We argue that to appreciate the decline, we need to understand the moment of birth. And if we are indeed approaching the end of the Western civilizational cycle, we need to examine what will replace it. Historical chain and analysis Thus, the structure of our research is built according to the following logic: We are recording the moment of a generational fork - a turning point in history. Then we ask the question: which civilization approached this fork? - Western. Next, we consider: how did it arise, develop and what did it result in? Then we move on to analysis: what does it mean to be a leader? What keys (technology, culture, religion, state structure) made the West what it became? And finally, we ask the final question: if Western civilization is passing, what is taking its place? Where is the new civilization emerging? History is cyclical. In the past, at the moment of the birth of the Western world, a similar process took place: one civilization was dying out, another was just beginning. We can draw a parallel. If then, say, the ancient or Roman civilization passed away, today we see a similar change of phases. And this is what allows us to ask about the future, and not just about the past. The structure of the book and its mission Our book is therefore not simply a chronology of events or a collection of reflections. It is a structured study in which: the first part is devoted to the analysis of Western civilization: from Charlemagne to the digital age and neomodernism, from early Christianity and the works of Augustine of Hippo to artificial intelligence, quantum physics and neuroimplants; the second is the search for a mission: what was the original idea of the West? What happened to the “human project” within this system? The final question is about the future: what will the new civilization look like? Where is it emerging? And what can be done today to positively influence its vector? Our method is a conscious comparison of historical cycles, an analysis of “generation forks,” and a reflection on where today’s elections are leading. We do not simply state the fact of decline. We examine what exactly is fading, why it was created, and what can be taken into the new era — and what should be left behind.
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