Davos – The World Economic Forum and the elite

Davos is the meeting place of the so-called elite. Once a year, current and ex heads of state, prominent businessmen, and top economists meet to discuss how to make the world a better place. For many who are angry at the current status quo of the world, Davos is a symbol of everything wrong with the way the world works.

This year, attendees include Bill Gates, Tony Blair, Jair Bolsonaro, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. The topics of discussion throughout the event will be the world economy, developing nations, reducing poverty, and climate change. Many of those involved in the discussions will be part of the neoliberal club that has reigned since the late 1970s and early 80s.

As discussed many times by me and every other media publication out there, the world is currently on a knife-edge, with populist uprisings everywhere. With the wealth inequality gap only widening, there is little surprise in this. Thought leaders attending Davos seem unconcerned about such turmoil.

Tony Blair was seen chuckling to himself when asked the question of whether elites such as himself, who entered an illegal war in Iraq and played a part in the financial crisis and development of increased inequality, should be the ones driving forward international policy. We shouldn’t also forget his role in advising more-than-questionable regimes since leaving his role in politics.

Bill Gates has insinuated that those critical of the current system are communists. Billionaires also laughed off the notion of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s idea of a 70% marginal tax rate. Within the guilded bubble of Davos, it is little surprise that these people are out of touch with citizens throughout the world who are struggling. When a hotdog costs $43, you know something isn’t quite right.

The other issue that many involved love to discuss is that of climate change. The irony of this lies in the fact that the majority of attendees most likely flew in on their own private jets. But don’t complain when they tell you to reduce your own waste!

A picture of one table shown at the conference had a combined wealth of $1.3 trillion. How these oligarchs believe that the general public will listen to them is beyond me when such wealth is concentrated.

Perhaps, then, it is of little surprise that more and more people are turning to alternatives, whether that be on the right or left of the political and economic spectrum. Bitcoin is just one example, mainly used by libertarians to highlight the broken economic system. Of course, this is derided by those in attendance. Yet, they are not alone. The left has also risen as well through the likes of Corbyn in the UK and Ocasio-Cortez in the US.

Those in attendance at Davos are unlikely to pay much attention to this, though. Instead, they will continue to push the benefits of neoliberalism, which has enriched themselves at the cost of the many. Unfortunately for them, they are in for a rude awakening and possible global chaos once their social, economic, and political bubble pops.