The
World Economic Forum's annual meeting took place in Davos on January
16-20, 2023. International observers sat down with Sputnik to formulate
the main message of the gathering in a nutshell.
Ekaterina Blinova::"This
year’s forum featured the new state of the world: divided, resentful,
and grim," Gal Luft, director of the Washington-based Institute for the
Analysis of Global Security, told Sputnik. "Davos has become the
dressing room of the West and is more divorced than ever from the rest.
It no longer represents the real concerns of most of the world’s
population. Its obsession with climate change, social justice, gender
and other forms of wokeness has made it a laughing stock and target of
disdain for most of the world."
The
World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-governmental and
lobbying organization, was founded in January 1971 by German economist
Klaus Schwab. Initially the entity was called "European Management
Forum"; it changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987.
Bringing
together business executives, thought leaders, and prominent
politicians, the forum sought to become a global platform to spearhead
the ideas of globalization and solve pressing economic and political
dilemmas. However, some Western commentators observed that the forum
quickly morphed into a technocratic globalist elitist club which sought
to dictate rules for the rest of the world.
"Globalization
was based on the premise of broad acceptance of global institutions,
norms and rules, as well as reasonably free flow of goods, money and
information," Luft said. "Each one of those has been compromised over
the past few years, first with the US-China decoupling and second with
the war in Europe. Instead, we have global bifurcation into two camps -
the collective West plus honorary members and all the others - and the
emergence of new institutions, alliances, financial instruments, trade
blocs and priority sets."
Is globalization about 'the eradication of world poverty,' or is it a mutant variety of (The savage)colonialism, remote controlled and digitally operated?.- Arundhati Roy
"There is no return to the post-WWII system. In addition, we are seeing
massive repudiation of some of the institutions and individuals who have
been most associated with globalization: the media, Davos,
entertainment industry etc. De-globalization can also be seen along
cultural fault lines. Western ideas, ethics, and 'values' are rejected
by billions who see them as dangerous and destabilizing," the US scholar
continued.
Russia's Independence Doesn't Fit in Davosian 'Ideal World'
The
necessity to "defeat" Russia became a leitmotif of the gathering, with
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declaring that to end the ongoing conflict
in Ukraine, the Russian special operation "must fail." The chancellor
called for stepping up military aid for Ukraine, but fell short of confirming that Berlin would send its Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Kiev, something that the Ukrainian regime, Poland, Finland, and the UK are urging him to do.
For
his part, Harvard Professor Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist at
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), urged the West not only to step
up anti-Russia sanctions, but to create conditions for “regime change” inside Russia.
"The
forum in Davos is a congress of adherents of globalism," Konstantin
Babkin, president of the Rosagromash Association and co-chair of Moscow
Economic Forum (MEF), told Sputnik. "These people would like to see a
unified world where global corporations rule, dominating even the
official state structures. What is happening in Ukraine contradicts
their ideas of an ideal world. Many multinational corporations had to
leave Russia. So, [Russia] has fallen out of the control of these
Western corporations. This contradicts their ideas about the ideal state
of affairs
While the Davos participants insisted that it is necessary to support Ukraine and to make sure that Russia obeys the rules established by the West, it appears that many countries have tired of this bellicose rhetoric, according to Babkin.
'Biodiversity' in Economy & Politics Instead of Global Unification
The
Western-centric globalized world order is falling apart at the seams,
with other countries adopting a non-aligned status and implementing
their own scenarios of development in terms of their financial policies,
foreign trade, and tax policies, according to Babkin. The Russian
scholar argues that re-industrialization and strengthening of national
economies could ensure the world's stability and diversity of models.
"It
would be nice to have different models, different states, different
peoples, different cultures," the Russian scholar said, drawing
parallels with natural biodiversity. "[There will be] Iranian model,
Indian model, Chinese model, Western model, and rejection of globalism. I
think this is a good thing, and Russia needs to develop its own
economy. I can also advise Iran, and China, and other large states, and
state associations (…) I think the world that Davos is promoting is so
unstable."
Remarkably,
major developing nations, including Russia and China, "have shunned the
forum and inspired others to do the same," said Luft, calling these
countries a "resistance bloc.
"In years to come, with the inevitable departure of Klaus Schwab from
the scene, the forum will lose its relevancy and will become just
another exclusive overpriced Swiss club with entry ticket of $250,000,"
Luft said. "It has already become a symbol of elitism and arrogance,
representing the garden as opposed to the jungle, to use Josep Borrell’s
terminology, and a platform to advance Western priorities."
Babkin
echoed Luft by saying that even though the Davos forum is likely to
continue bringing together Western executives and politicians, it has
ceased being a truly international platform and will never become what
some call "the world's government."
"Globalization the way we know it has died and Davos 2023 was its funeral ceremony," Luft concluded.
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