![\"SWISS-CHINA\/\"](\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/ff5f1_swiss-china.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn the Swiss resort town of Davos amid\u00a0the glare of\u00a0media attention, movie stars, billionaires and politicians have gathered\u00a0once again to tell us what we are doing wrong and how to start doing things right.<\/p>\n
It’s\u00a0like\u00a0the\u00a0Oscars in the Alps, a glimpse of\u00a0the one per cent in their opulent element\u00a0taking their\u00a0mittens off to shake their fingers at us.<\/p>\n
This year’s theme for\u00a0the high-powered talking shop, “responsive and responsible leadership,” seems somewhat ironic given the appearance of Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the conference, a first for a Chinese president and Communist Party general secretary.<\/p>\n
The autocratic leader of the world’s most populous country, who has shut down voices of dissent, Xi may be a\u00a0perfect example of the Davos\u00a0model:\u00a0Listen to your betters. Do as\u00a0they say, and all will be well.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be the first president and Communist Party general secretary to attend the annual conference. (Denis Balibouse\/Reuters)<\/p>\n
The improbable image\u00a0of billionaires instructing us on inequality, of world-spanning jet-setters warning us about climate change and autocrats advising on responsible government would be funny if their words weren’t reported so seriously.<\/p>\n
And the citizens of the world are taking note.<\/p>\n
The election of Donald Trump, the British\u00a0vote to leave the European Union, and gathering\u00a0populist unrest around the world are all evidence of an anti-elite\u00a0reaction.<\/p>\n
Tired of condescension from the U.S. political class, many U.S. voters think they have found themselves a champion.<\/p>\n
Others would say\u00a0that Trump, despite his common manner and simple turns of phrase,\u00a0is just a representative of another kind of elite,\u00a0a self-interested billionaire with a chip on his shoulder who doesn’t play well with other billionaires.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fact is,\u00a0elites of all kinds have different interests from the rest of us.<\/p>\n
Global movie\u00a0stars depend on mass audience. Billionaires depend on entire populations buying the same electronic product or software. Voters are forced to\u00a0choose between candidates in a process that often fails to address the issues ordinary people think most important.<\/p>\n
![\"DAVOS-MEETING\/CRYSTAL](\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/ff5f1_davos-meeting-crystal-awards.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A member of the global arts elite, Colombian singer Shakira smiles after accepting a Crystal Award yesterday in the run-up to the Davos conference. (Ruben Sprich\/Reuters)<\/p>\n
Globalization, one of the principles that Davos has consistently championed, is an example of that\u00a0top-down thinking that\u00a0fails to appeal<\/a> to an increasing number of\u00a0voters.<\/p>\n Yes,\u00a0globalization may have helped\u00a0the world economy grow, as the IMF reported yesterday,\u00a0but what difference does that make to the average voter when statistics repeatedly show that working people are not the beneficiaries?\u00a0<\/p>\n Canada is an example of the problem seen in the U.S. and elsewhere. Economists celebrate\u00a0growing economies, but the share of productivity increases going to wages has plunged since the 1970s. The quality of Canadian jobs continues to fall<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rich and famous in Davos may have things right. Capitalism needs urgent reform<\/a>, they say.<\/p>\n “The combination of economic inequality and political polarization threatens to amplify global risks, fraying the social solidarity on which the legitimacy of our economic and political systems rests,” says the World Economic Forum report<\/a> issued in advance of this week’s Davos gathering.<\/p>\n They’ve said similar things before and still the trend worsens.<\/p>\n It may be that by representing and perpetuating a top-down way of thinking,\u00a0Davos has become an example of the flaw in our system of political economy.<\/p>\n Rich people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Amancio Ortega, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Carlos Slim and Michael Bloomberg see the world differently from the rest of us. (File photos\/Reuters)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Starry-eyed\u00a0voters have been waiting for someone to step in and fix things for them. In the U.S., they got Trump.<\/p>\n The move to Trump may be a step in the right direction in that it represents an intentional\u00a0rejection\u00a0of elite\u00a0thinking. But for U.S. citizens it may only be a first step.<\/p>\n The true anti-elite\u00a0solution may be frightening to the comfortable and the elite \u2014 that is, for ordinary people to\u00a0shake up the political and economic system,\u00a0rebuild it\u00a0and\u00a0make it work again from the bottom up.<\/p>\n Social media is already laying the groundwork. It is something political thinker Benjamin Barber<\/a> describes as strong democracy. Rather than just passively voting and thinking you’ve done your civic duty, Barber says,\u00a0the only anti-elite solution is a\u00a0strong participatory local democracy.<\/p>\n Maybe those who can’t afford to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos should look for local solutions rather than waiting for rescue from the top. (Ruben Sprich\/Reuters)<\/p>\n And that may mean setting aside some of the global values that Davos\u00a0wants to promote.<\/p>\n Rather than international stars we need\u00a0local musicians. Rather than global elites we need local\u00a0heroes, local\u00a0politicians, local ideas, local solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rejecting globalization seems like a backward step, but it may represent a repair phase, the same sentiment that led to Brexit and Trump, and is still not complete.<\/p>\n Growth is\u00a0meaningless\u00a0if the wages of ordinary people stagnate while the rich take their opinions to\u00a0Davos.<\/p>\n Follow Don Pittis\u00a0on Twitter @don_pittis<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Urgent reform needed<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"DAVOS-MEETING-INEQUALITY\"](\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/ff5f1_davos-meeting-inequality.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSave yourselves<\/h2>\n
![\"DAVOS-MEETING\/\"](\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/ff5f1_davos-meeting.jpg\")
<\/p>\n