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Davos Summit: a Moral Sham?

Moguls shed guilt and seek bailout money, but do pay homage to ideas: Guardian

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 25, 2008 9:28 PM CST
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(Newser) – The Davos summit, an annual retreat “where money comes to find morality and politics comes to meet money,” is the capital of capitalism—yet the world's economic crisis is only spoken of in whispers there, writes Julian Glover in the Guardian. Instead, moguls press the flesh with Middle East oil magnates and Chinese or Russian officials—anyone who can buoy the West's wobbly economy with a nod or a phone call.

Davos tycoons do seek ways to battle poverty, even if it's "from the back of a blacked-out Audi limousine" before they party the night away with Coca-Cola, Google, and other corporate hosts. It may all seem hypocritical—“a way for billionaires to shed a little guilt about being rich"—but at least it pays homage to “ideas and principles,” Glover writes. "The homage is public and, in its way, sincere."

Chairman of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates talks to Unilever Chairman Michael Treschow, left, after they addressed a conference during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Chairman of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates talks to Unilever Chairman Michael Treschow, left, after they addressed a conference during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,...   (Associated Press)
Chairman and CEO of Google Inc, USA, Eric Schmidt gestures while speaking during a working session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. Buoyed by a burst of optimism from Bill Gates, business and government leaders attending the World Economic Forum were set Friday to...
Chairman and CEO of Google Inc, USA, Eric Schmidt gestures while speaking during a working session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. Buoyed by a burst of optimism...   (Associated Press)
Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra K. Nooyi, chairs a conference during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra K. Nooyi, chairs a conference during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)   (Associated Press)
U.S. cellist Yo-Yo Ma reacts as he is about to play after receiving the Crystal award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. The Crystal award is presented to artists who use their art to reach out to other cultures. British actress Emma Thompson...
U.S. cellist Yo-Yo Ma reacts as he is about to play after receiving the Crystal award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. The Crystal award is presented to artists...   (Associated Press)
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