As the US Republican presidential candidates battle it out over obscene tax breaks (Romney, as a multi-millionaire only
Capitalism Dies at Davos
pays 13%), the world’s populace is bearing down on its leaders. Ah, the age of transparency: OWS, Arab spring et al. It’s a new era, my friends, and the man on the street might just be calling the shots.
It’s with this in mind that the Davos World Economic Forum super-summit has inspired some of the participants to actually question the ongoing validity of capitalism in its current state. An interesting article appeared by the BBC business editor, Tim Weber, as he was covering the Davos love-in this year, and as one can imagine much of the talk was doom and gloom - but also of fundamental changes afoot. John Griffith-Jones, the UK and Europe chairman of accounting giant KPMG, was quoted in the article saying, “is capitalism working…does the Western model need changing?”
To the protestors outside the summit, the answer is clear. But, what’s more interesting is what the global ‘movers and shakers’ are saying inside. Griffith-Jones’s sentiments were not alone. Apparently Professor Klaus Schwab said simply, “Capitalism in its current form no longer fits the world around us.” Ok, well what does then? Everyone knows that public trust in current leaders is in the trenches, but might there be a possible way for capitalism to survive? Perhaps a new form of growth-limited, balanced capitalism will begin to emerge? After all, one can have socialist leanings without becoming a Maoist fanatic. A balance is necessary in order to have social responsibility – earning without end, is over. You know that’s the case when that sentiment is coming from the world’s most wealthy men at a dinner table fit for kings.
