The Relay Race of Generations

This period demands that we show initiative and that we make bold, rapid decisions. At the same time, practical experience teaches us to be cautious and circumspect. The scientific-technological revolution aggravates this contradiction to the extreme and does not allow us to wait, to postpone important decisions for "later on." There is a continuous flood of "crises" and "revolutions"—in ecology, energy, information, computers, etc. At the same time, our technological might is such that erroneous, unreasoned, large-scale decisions can have catastrophic, irreversible consequences. What kind of individual does it take to live and act successfully under such conditions, and how do we take the demands of the age into account in the theory and practice of the upbringing of youth? Youth are always being either praised or scolded. But do we have a good understanding of youth and of our own historical situation?