DAVOS, Switzerland — Capitalism is out of whack, the founder of the World Economic Forum says, welcoming critics’ ideas of how to fix it — even those camped out in protest igloos near his invitation-only gathering of global VIPs.
This anti-big money mood is surprising territory for a man who embraces free markets and whose livelihood consists of bringing world CEOs and political leaders together for elite brainstorming sessions.
Klaus Schwab is also unusually downbeat, his trademark optimism tempered by protracted global economic distress, as well as public unrest, ahead of this year’s forum.
“I’m a deep believer in free markets but free markets have to serve society,” he told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday ahead of the forum’s Wednesday opening. said in Davos, a ski resort tucked away deep in the Swiss Alps. He lamented excesses and “lack of inclusiveness in the capitalist system.”
“We have sinned,” he said, adding that this year’s forum will place particular emphasis on ethics and resetting the moral compass of the world’s business and political community.
Schwab said the forum had invited members of the Occupy protest movement camped in igloos in Davos to a session on the sidelines of the forum this week on reforming capitalism.
Protest organizer David Roth told the AP his group hadn’t decided yet whether to accept. He said the event appeared to be a “staged self-criticism” by forum organizers. His group had suggested a debate at a neutral venue instead.
Thousands of Swiss soldiers and police have been shovelling snow to erect a ‘ring of steel’ against unwelcome demonstrators hoping to gatecrash the meeting.
Half a dozen demonstrators appeared briefly Tuesday outside the security perimeter, daubing the snow with anti-capitalist slogans. Police checked their IDs but allowed the protest to go ahead.
“Everybody who could make a constructive proposal is very welcome. We need new ideas,” Schwab said.
He did note a general aversion to allowing too much anti-capitalist fervour to reach Davos.
“I also emphasize that Davos is a place for dialogue. ... The participants are usually reluctant to be confronted with people who are not open to dialogue and just want to serve their own sometimes one-sided interests,” he said.
He warned that an “intergenerational conflict” could be looming as governments compromise future spending to pay today’s debts.
“People feel it’s a difficult time. They are irritated. There is, they feel, a lack of future perspective,” he said.
Schwab also urged that more attention be paid by leaders and governments alike to jobs — saying Davos participants should focus on “talentism” instead of capitalism.
He also said leaders should concentrate on winning back public trust.
A survey by public relations firm Edelman suggested the same thing, showing that levels of trust in governments and companies to solve problems has dived.
CEO Richard Edelman said he was most struck by “the demise of trust in government. In 2008-09 trust in government soared because it had to bail out business. But this year, because of corruption in India and Brazil, because of the stymied situation in the United States, as well as the continued travails in the eurozone, trust in government absolutely fell apart.”
The CEOs themselves are pessimistic this year too, according to a another survey released Tuesday by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In polling 1,258 CEOs around the world, they found 48 per cent believed the global economy would decline further in 2012. Many cited uncertainty about the European debt crisis as their major cause for worry.
While China, Brazil and other developing economies remain robust, the United States and Europe are still struggling with financial issues that erupted in the credit crunch of 2008, including high unemployment. That contributes to a feeling that the world’s economic problems are worse than leaders meeting at Davos in previous years had foreseen.
“We were too optimistic (last year),” Schwab acknowledged.
Meanwhile, scientists at the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research are keeping a close watch on the nearby slopes, lest all the heavy snow they are carrying pose a risk to Davos and its high-profile visitors.