All of what you say has relevance, but i feel only scratches the surface of the real problem. Basically us and our planet. We can’t sustain continued growth(we can’t even sustain the present situation), the planets recourses are finite and we seem hell bent on destroying it before it runs out. We have been borrowing from the future for far too long and our children never mind our Grandkids are totally Screwed.
We seem incapable of facing the future we have bought for ourselves.
This isn’t a bad look at it. Quite optimistic really.
Personally, i fear it’s going to be much worse than Dr Ahmed suggests. We won’t change until there is no other option. Probably be a bit late by then. Capitalism rules and it’s going to kill us all. Prepare for massive upheaval across the planet within the next 2-10 years.
Oxfam like putting these type of figures out and they seem to be getting worse. There is criticism of the report, as highlighted in the article, where one chap is saying that although the data is correct it does not take into account the fact that the welfare of the poorest is improving.
The way I see it is that the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider (even if the poorest are less poor than they once were, they’re still poor and the rich are just getting richer) and there has to come a point when society as a whole rejects this. The UN identify a tipping point in terms of the Gini co-efficient (a measure of inquality in a country) and say that once levels of inquality reach that point there will be riots on the streets and civil unrest. China has hit that point and plenty of other countries are there as well. We get sidtracked by various news stories and new groups of scapegoats are found but will we ever get to the point of action? The latest news about the NHS being in crisis doesn’t seem, to me, to be making people angry enough. Is that because the public have brought the idea that austerity is essential and that this not an example of the well off looking after themselves and telling everyone else to go fuck themselves? Do people really think that the problem is too many foreigners free-loading? We seem quite happy to vote in Tories who have created an even bigger divide in this country in terms of wealth, so maybe there won’t be riots on the streets. The move to the left by the labour party has simply led to Corbyn being shot down by many even though his politics may present answers to this sort of issue. Why aren’t people going to vote for him? Are we happy to have this inequality? And that’s just in this country, not even mentioning the levels of global inquality.
Like I said in a previous post on this thread - the poor are coming for us. It’s going happen. If the relative poor of this country arent bothered about inquality, then the global poor will rise up and we’re for the fucking chop. I tell you all, we’re heading for armageddon.
Just ensure that it’s safe from the money grabbing government, otherwise they will take all of it then nationalise the bank it was kept in and charge you for the privilege to do so with a tax increase.
OK who stole this thread and put it nto the Beeb Web Site.
Farkers have jumped onto my Bandwagon ffs
The Defeat of the Davos Elite
Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, and the rise of populism have left the world’s “liberal elites” reeling. Can Davos, their ideological habitat, survive?
It’s all too easy to take a swipe at “Davos” - the annual Alpine pilgrimage of the so-called global elite, during which they underline the urgency of tackling climate change to the hum of private jet traffic, pledge to alleviate food poverty while snacking on caviar canapes, and commit to reducing inequality while being waited on hand-and-foot by an army of service staff at exclusive dinner parties.
But beyond the often jarring contrasts, the World Economic Forum (or ze WEF, as locals calls it), has always been able to point to its role in oiling the wheels of a socially progressive, pro-globalisation alliance - safe in the knowledge that, to a greater or lesser extent, it was in harmony with the tide of history.
Then came 2016. At the beginning of the year, when Donald Trump was still one of many potential US presidential candidates, and a date for Britain’s referendum on EU membership had yet to be set, Davos regulars were remarkably sanguine.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Few Davos delegates last year predicted Donald Trump's election victory
The WEF’s annual Global Risks Report, in which it tries to predict future crises, made little mention of anti-establishment forces and WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell reassured delegates that Hillary Clinton would emerge victorious, regardless of whom she ran against.
European leaders seemed confident that their institutions would survive the challenges posed by an influx of refugees, murderous attacks on capital cities and rising nationalist sentiment. Soundbites dismissing populist movements were easy to come by.
Fast forward 12 months, and the WEF crowd is comparatively muted.
With the notable exception of billionaire George Soros, few are going out of their way to condemn the incoming US president, even as his daily pronunciations signal that the world’s most important economy is moving further and further away from the Davos model.
Perhaps no image sums up the new world order as well as that of a seemingly despondent Klaus Schwab, the respected German academic who is the driving force behind WEF, being ushered through the lobby of Trump Tower last month.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The World Economic Forum's Klaus Schwab at Trump Tower last month
But Mr Schwab’s visit is also indicative of the WEF’s strength, in particular its ability to spread the Davos gospel by running a very broad church, both politically and geographically.
Indeed, the likes of Donald Trump have long been invited to the meeting (though he has yet to attend), and when controversial figures, such as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, descend on the Swiss resort, they are hardly put in the stocks.
What’s more, as organisers are keen to point out, Davos has always been about more than just the US and Europe, and Indian, Chinese and African attendees have been put centre stage for years.
Image copyright AP Image caption Chinese President Xi Jinping toasts Swiss President Doris Leuthard ahead of Davos
Much is being made of the fact that Xi Jinping is to become the first Chinese president to attend WEF when he opens the forum this week, and that Davos is welcoming a bigger trade delegation from the country than ever before - a signal, perhaps, that a more inward-looking US leaves a void for other global powers to fill.
But a Chinese delegation was first invited to the annual meeting in 1979, and although he has stayed away in recent years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn crowds on the mountain more than once.
And as the geopolitical map changes, the WEF’s softly-softly approach - in which very little is mandated and everything is up for polite discussion - may well become its greatest strength.
Its slow but steady consensus building may yet lead the Davos tribe out of ideological isolation, even if it doesn’t manage to keep their annual champagne consumption out of the headlines.
Why are so many people in advanced democracies showing hostility towards so-called smug elites and establishment power? From Brexit to Trump, populist leaders have responded to the growing number of voters who feel disenchanted, disconnected and disenfranchised and fear globalisation, immigration and terrorism. Frustrated at being economically left behind and politically ignored, is their disaffection dangerous or a temporary railing against the centres of power? Are the political elite in power now facing a rebellion of the forgotten - a populist insurgency, with a backlash from an electorate who are looking beyond the established and traditional parties and formations? Join Zeinab Badawi and a high level panel of opinion formers from across Europe and America to discuss Politics of Fear: The Rebellion of the Forgotten?
Why do the supposed elite and their commentators make no mention of the real problem that leads to all other problems. Do they not know, or is the hoarding of wealth for a reason they would not like us discussing(it’s not just greed). They surely know that Rampant capitalism is unsustainable, whilst creating untold problems that will have to be faced sooner rather than later.
This article is interesting and figure 4 shows the lie about capitalisms spread of wealth.
People need to face the fact that our terminal decline has already started. Unless we completely change how we do pretty much everything(not going to happen) we’re all fucked, but our leaders make no mention of it. Why is that?
Yes, that’s very true D_P. You would think none of them have children. Unless they have a plan and that’s why they are hoarding as much as they can. I’d be rather surprised if such a self centered powerful group didn’t have some kind of contingency plan to save themselves and their own, whilst the rest of us starve.
