Dangerous Transformations
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has come to Detroit. In keeping with its origins, it came to the city as an” invitation only” gathering. And, as it has in most places, either in its favored meeting spot of Davos, Switzerland, or cities around the globe, it was met with vigorous protests. In Switzerland, the protests of its annual gathering have become so costly the government withdrew much of its support in response to public pressure.
The WEF is a driving force behind the ideas and policies that have impoverished cities, devastated the environment, and eroded democracy over the last half century. The organization, beginning in 1971, brings together wealthy business elites, politicians, academics, and selected celebrities and journalists to focus international lobbying efforts on behalf of business. Its stated mission is “improving the state of the word by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.” In essence the WEF is a primary architect for global economic development.
The WEF began as a reaction to progressive forces. In the wake of the civil rights movement, especially after the Poor People’s Campaign in the US and the liberation struggles in Africa, Central and South America, there was a growing recognition of global inequality and the possibility of government action to limit capital and protect people.
By the early 1970’s political forces emerged to limit the worst of capital development. The first Earth Day marked an awakening to the ecological destruction inherent in global, industrial production. Within the decade, governments were pressured to establish policies to limit industrial wastes, hold companies responsible for their environmental destruction, and to protect the environment. Vast areas of land were removed from the grasp of industry. International agreements were emerging to limit fishing and mining of the oceans. New political parties were gaining power, including the Greens, first in Europe and then in the US and globally.
In opposition, the WEF pressured for a kind of internationalism that would protect business from the efforts of local, state or national governments to interfere with the “free market.” This free market ideology, championed in the US by Ronald Reagan, meant that businesses should be left to make as much money as they could, and magically, the rest of us would somehow benefit. Under Regan, businesses accelerated public private partnerships to make money performing the jobs that had once been the responsibilities of governments. The failure of this ideology for the majority of people and the planet is evident today around the globe and on the streets of Detroit. It is evident in the rising waters, warmer temperatures and climate disasters we are enduring on a daily basis.
The WEF has been particularly adept at stealing the language and ideas of progressives, while developing policies to undermine their substance. For example, the WEF calls for increasing global “inclusiveness” while overseeing policies that have dramatically increased the gap between rich and poor, particularly their aversion to taxation. Now they are coming to Detroit with the language of “urban transformation.”
This emphasis on “transformation” began in 2009 with a project called the Global Redesign Initiative (GRI), to develop the ideological and policy basis to create a form of governance that depends on self-selected “stakeholders.”
The language of sustainability, inclusion and transformation was on display as the elites gathered in our city. But their actions reveal the hollowness and dangers of their talk. Organizations throughout the city are coming together to educate people about the WEF and to remind us all of the power of the ideas generated by the World Social forum in opposition to these elites. Another world is possible, and it is emerging from the choices we make.