Daily Times

The Masters of the Universe have hit the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos. And this year there is a little something for everyone; even if Iran has proved a no-show.

Yet true to form, Donald Trump is all set to be the man of the moment; for many of the wrong reasons. Indeed, there are rumours that African delegates may walk out of his address to protest recent disparaging comments about their continent and Haiti. And then there is the anticipated tension that continues to swirl around the meeting between the unquiet American president and Britain’s Theresa May — a woman not known to mince her words. Just ask her Foreign Secretary. In the end, of course, Trump told the PM that he loved her country; which may or may not have been a ruse to stop her from staying in her room and eating fondue like last time. But even if he hadn’t, it really would have been no biggie given that political standoffs hold far more currency within the domestic context; as in the days of Margaret Thatcher and opposition leader Neil Kinnock.

But at the forefront of all this remains the apparent contradiction of Washington’s man in the White House bringing his America First policy to the very heart of global capitalism. Leading many to ask if there is a doctor in the house. For how to balance such protectionism with invitations to invest in the US economy? Quite simply, there is no answer to this moot point. Apart from bringing to an end the charade that places the business elite a rung above.

Bluntly put, the latter has manipulated globalisation to the point where this has long owed its very survival to inherent discriminatory practices that not only disadvantage the Global South but also the precariat back at home. Indeed, these Wizards of Davos only remember the children of a lesser god when markets are saturated and an image boost is needed; one that preferably shows that capitalism cares in the community. This one is for you, Tim Cook and the deplorable conditions suffered by those unfortunate enough to work in your factories.

The saddest part is that globalisation was a dream mis-sold; and it wasn’t ever just an American one. For as Noam Chomsky repeatedly points out — it is just another way of saying “international integration” and those who truly stand against this are few and far between, including the Left. The latter, after all, as the prominent intellectual has said, is concerned with the needs and interests of the people as opposed to illegitimate concentrations of power. Meaning those that rob from the poor to give to the rich. Such as when the then Cameron government reportedly wrote-off $6 billion in taxes at for a particular global mobile network service provider at a time when his country was facing $ 7 billion in austerity measures.

Thank goodness, then, for Malala. Who is at Davos not only to remind everyone that they would do better to invest in girls’ education worldwide — but to call out Trump over harassment allegations.  *

Published in Daily Times, January 26^th 2018.