![]() Just five years ago, 388 individuals controlled that level of wealth. Just 62 individuals – 53 of them men – control the same amount of wealth as 3.5 billion people, or the poorer half of the human race, according to Oxfam’s findings. It’s not just in the United States either, which holds a presidential election in November, but across the globe. ![]() On this front, charity Oxfam, in its regular party-pooper report ahead of the World Economic Forum, provides some startling evidence that this may indeed be the case today. What’s inarguable is that all variations of modern populism share a similar root: disaffection with the social contract, and an abiding sense that the benefits of economic progress are not just asymmetrically distributed, but potentially no longer available to ordinary citizens. “You only have to look to Europe between the two wars and to a number of the Latin American countries pre-war and post-war to see that.” “The history of populism in democracy is not great, and it’s not self-correcting in a lot of cases,” said Ken Jacobs, chairman and CEO of international investment bank Lazard during a Breakingviews Predictions panel discussion last week. Certain types of populist movements, however, carry their own, equally frightening risks. History suggests that can lead to economic instability, even violent revolution. A corrupt status quo with entrenched political and corporate interests will, over time, erode faith in democratic institutions. The disruption that Trump and his ilk represent can, theoretically, be a good thing. While Trump’s tangerine visage will hang heavy over this Swiss mountain town in 2016, he’s just the most imposing of a long line of politicians who, particularly since the great financial crisis that began in 2008, have rallied voter discontent in ways that are upending the establishment. presidency finds its roots in the inequality that the annual gathering in Davos represents – and which the world business and political leaders in attendance will, again, talk about solving. The populism driving the blustery real estate developer’s unlikely campaign for the U.S. ![]() Imagine if Merrill had been smart like Goldmanĭonald Trump’s presence will be felt at the World Economic Forum this year even though he isn’t actually due to attend.
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