Davos
2016 is now completed. The last footprints on the snow are just disappearing.
But the intellectual and political footprints that marked four days of
discussions will remain for a good while. We can say a lot of bad things about
Davos and its crowds. But we have also to recognise that the annual meetings
offer a special opportunity to reflect about the present and the future. Some
of the best minds engage in the debates. And that´s the big plus of the Davos
initiative.
There
are many take-home ideas that came out of the many sessions, dialogues and
presentations. I would like to refer to three of them.
First,
today´s world faces a good deal of simultaneous crises. This combination of
very profound challenges carries a new level of risks, an unprecedented
hodgepodge of perils.
Second,
the nations and the international institutions are not prepared to respond to
the complexities. That makes everything much more dangerous and unpredictable.
It also contributes in a very big way to the discredit of leaders and the
international system, including the UN.
Third,
we can expect a very serious increase of the inequalities. As we move into more
sophisticated forms of production and economic activity, the income and wealth differences
will increase. On one side, we will see those who can take advantage of the new
technologies and of the global system of exchanges. On the other, there will
masses of individuals and families left behind. Power and fragility will be the
sides of the future. And we can expect that people will not be ready to accept
it with just a smile.
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