The rise of nationalism may have threatened the ‘Davos man’ – but that doesn’t mean globalisation is in retreat

If the trade in goods remains reasonably open and services continue to boom, we may well get the benefits with less of the downside of threatened identities

It is Davos time again. This week, the world’s finance, business and political leaders – plus a sprinkling of pop stars – will gather as they do each year in the Swiss ski resort to meet and ponder the state of the global economy. It is easy to mock the event, the upcoming one particularly so, since on a count done by Bloomberg at least 119 billionaires from all around the world are flying there, and one of the main appearances will be by Greta Thunberg. Hypocrisy is alive and strong among the uber-wealthy.

Ripe for ridicule indeed, but to do so misses the key point. It is actually very efficient for business leaders to be able to meet their key customers in one place at one time. Allow for that and maybe the event’s carbon footprint is not so dreadful after all.

The environment is the most upfront single theme this year. Last week Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, warned that the entire global financial system would be fundamentally reshaped by climate change. His message was chilling in that he warned of huge risks to the world economy, to cities, to food production and so on. But on a broader perspective, it is also encouraging. If global finance is mobilised to combat climate change, then huge resources will be thrown at the problem. Global finance is more powerful and more unified than individual national governments.