"Man Is Not a God"

By Eugene Linden Mikhail Gorbachev

At the Global Forum in Kyoto, Mikhail Gorbachev talked with TIME senior writer Eugene Linden.

Q. Why is it that no other world leaders have adopted this issue?

A. All policymakers are preoccupied by current politics, the scarcity of resources, etc. The fact that all of them came to the Rio Summit, however, means that politicians are beginning to understand that we have reached a watershed in our relationship with the environment. Last November, 1,500 scientists, including 100 Nobel prizewinners, stated at a conference that if things go on like this, within decades our biosphere will suffer irreversible damage. I think this realization will change the way politicians think.

Q. Will it take a global disaster before the rest of the world takes action?

A. We are already moving toward global disaster with the speed of a bullet train.

Q. Do you think that the measures the world has undertaken are too little too late?

A. I think you are right. I know from my own experience what it means to do too little too late. I know the results. If you translate that into global terms with regard to the environment, we can have irreparable consequences.

Q. What are the most serious problems facing humanity?

A. We must change behavior and models of consumption. Humanity must reject self-deification. Man is not a god who owns nature. Man is part of nature. We must also recognize that productivity is not keeping pace with population growth, but when we look at ways to regulate population, it must not come from government but from new values. People must come to accept smaller families: I am very much against any use of force in this issue.

Q. What would you have done had you remained in power?

A. I would have above all continued reforms. The only way to fix things is to move from totalitarianism to democracy. Only a free, confident people can influence policymakers.