In Defence Of Davos
One of the best episodes of the once great The Simpsons is undoubtedly ‘Homer the Great’. It’s worth signing up for Disney Plus just for the classic episodes of the show (I reckon even a busy person can get through them all during the free trial period). The episode sees Homer joining a secret society similar to the Freemasons and it turns out that anyone who is anyone is a member and they secretly control the world. The episode is great regardless but the song ‘We Do’ where the members boast of controlling the British Crown, suppressing the metric system, and keeping the Martians under wraps really does make it one of the best episodes.
As you’ve probably guessed from the title of this post, I refer to this because there is a growing number of people out there who genuinely believe that there is a group of people who secretly run the world and are seeking to manipulate world events to their own nefarious means, all from a ski resort in Davos.
The idea that the World Economic Forum (WEF) has created pandemics or is behind other terrible events in between sessions on the slopes is obviously nonsense. There are also more valid criticisms of the WEF such as it being a group of wealthy elites lecturing the rest of us on how to live. However, I think that the WEF is a force for good and there is every reason why our politicians should attend.
The first reason is that it’s obviously good if the leaders of the UK (and those who want to lead it) meet with other world leaders. It’s important to cooperate and coordinate with other countries if we want to avoid disasters. Take Covid, for example. You could argue that it became a pandemic because there was a failure to plan and coordinate at an international level. Discussing issues such as pandemics and climate change means that our leaders can hopefully ensure we are protected from future shocks.
Exclusivity is also a good thing. The act of having a meeting of elites which the organisers can exclude other powerful people from is incredibly useful. It sends an important message to leaders such as Putin that he and his terrorist state are pariahs and that the international community condemns him and his actions.
This leads us onto the importance of globalism and the rules based international order. Unfortunately this has been in decline over the past few years due to populist movements. This is disappointing as it has helped to bring peace and prosperity to the world over the past few decades.
Take the UN, for example. There are obviously problems with it such as Russia being a permanent member of the Security Council and other evil regimes such as Iran being allowed on councils on human rights. However, it has largely done a good job at settling disputes around the world and has seen the great powers working together.
Or the World Health Organisation . It has been rightly criticised for its failings during the pandemic but has helped to eradicate smallpox and take the fight to other deadly diseases.
The IMF has often been criticised and some of that criticism is fair. However, it has helped impose fiscal discipline upon profligate nations, ensuring that they made the necessary reforms so that their people could be lifted out of poverty.
Similarly, the World Bank has been instrumental in providing finance for developing nations. This has helped to lift tens of millions of people out of poverty.
Finally, the WTO. It, and its predecessor, GATT has encouraged nations to open their economies and embrace free trade. This has been one of the key drivers of economic growth in Asia and has increased wealth, living standards, and health outcomes in countries around the world.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to claim that these often maligned institutions have dramatically improved the lives of tens of millions of people and saved the lives of countless more. Unfortunately, they are in retreat and many of them, especially the WTO, are at risk of becoming increasingly powerless. What is more, there are increased calls in countries such as the US and the UK to cut their funding or to leave them entirely.
This would be a mistake. To reduce funding or abandon them would simply see them being captured by hostile states such as China. We should take the opposite approach and increase funding to these organisations so that we can strengthen the rules based liberal order and spread prosperity around the world.