Davos can still be a force for meaningful change, even if the global elite aren’t

With globalisation under threat, there are a number of important reasons for welcoming the World Economic Forum this year

The way to combat populism in all its forms is to focus attention on the benefits of our integrated world economy (AFP/Getty)

Davos is here again this week. The small mountain town in Switzerland, a health spa before it became a ski resort, is host once again to the annual meeting of the global elite – the industrialists, politicians and other leaders who run the world economy – at the World Economic Forum.

Figures like these have been dubbed “Davos man” by the American political scientist Samuel P Huntington, who in 2004 wrote a paper about “an emerging global superclass”.

Unsurprisingly, it is an event that has come under attack, for it exemplifies all that the populist movement despises: rich people who fly in their private jets to Davos to give lectures about the need to cut carbon emissions. And when politicians run into problems at home they don’t want to been seen lording it among the elite.

This year, Donald Trump has pulled out the American delegation because of the government shutdown, and for obvious reasons, neither Emmanuel Macron nor Theresa May are attending either.

The fact the Americans will not be there means that there will be no scope for an accommodation between the US and China over their rumbling trade war, regarded as the greatest current threat to the world economy. The Chinese delegation will be led by China’s vice president, Wang Qishan, rather than President Xi Jinping, so this was never going to be a head-to-head with the leaders of the two largest economies.

At the moment there is a truce in the tussle, and the two countries have until 1 March before this runs out. Business leaders in Davos may be looking for some signs from China of compromises it may be prepared to make, but hopes should not be high.

There are, however, at least three important reasons for welcoming Davos this particular year. The first is that it is focusing on social and environmental issues, and that any attention here generates impact beyond the meetings.

The broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough is speaking about biodiversity and will be receiving an award. Prince William will interview him, and later speak at another session on mental health. Raising awareness about mental health, and seeking ways to treat it more effective must surely be one of the key priorities for the global community.

The second reason is that the World Economic Forum’s administration has been one of the pioneers in analysing and assessing the impact of the new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, on the workplace.

In 2016 the WEF’s founder, Professor Klaus Schwab, published his study of this process under the title of The Fourth Industrial Revolution. He developed these ideas further with Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution last year.

We are all aware how jobs are being both created and destroyed by technology, but governments are struggling to cope with the social and economic changes that are happening as a result. The WEF has drawn attention to some of the issues it raises, and by doing so will help nudge governments towards a more effective response.

And third, at a time when globalisation is under threat, is it worth remembering that on balance it has brought great benefits to society. Anyone reading these words, flashed instantly around the world, will be doing so thanks to the technologies that globalisation has created and shared.

Although it should be noted, as Professor Schwab acknowledges, that some people have failed to benefit from it. “Globalisation produces winners and losers and there are many more winners in the last 24, 25, 30 years – but now we have to look after the losers, those who have been left behind”, he said recently.

That must surely be right. A meeting of the winners in a posh Swiss resort cannot of itself do much to help the losers.

But the way to combat populism in all its forms is to focus attention on the benefits of our integrated world economy, and find ways of ensuring that the wealth it generates is more fairly shared.