Davos, from interventionism to hope

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is the most important gathering of business leaders in the world. I have gained a wealth of knowledge from these meetings, which also served as an excellent platform to witness the world's remarkable advancements in technology, innovation, and investment.

It should be the leading centre for the celebration and defence of economic freedom and private property, as well as capitalism’s success at eradicating poverty in dozens of nations.

However, in recent years we have witnessed a growing trend of interventionist messages coming from the forum. The forum promoted the wrong socialist ideas, which have led economies to stagnation, debt, and poverty for decades, as compassionate and social alternatives.

In one of the debates at Davos this week, one of the participants said, “We must face it: Trump won; we lost.” This statement perfectly captures the essence of what Davos has become in recent years: A gathering of confirmation biases. All participants in the debates expressed the same views.

How can anyone believe that Trump poses a threat to the world's leading economic summit? It was amazing to hear the endless messages in recent years calling for government intervention, social control, and limiting private property in the fight against climate change.

Confirmation bias

In 2018, it was concerning to observe the exponential rise in government-funded promotional presentations, which appeared to validate the policies of the executive in power at Davos.

This was concerning, but even more worrying was to see how the forum, between 2018 and 2023, gave a platform to proposals to ignore economic profits in business, impose the rationing of meat and coffee, limit individual travel, and impose central bank digital currencies to enforce social control and restrict access to private property.

Many leaders in Davos succumbed to confirmation bias, believing that if all the repeated messages promoted interventionism and statism, they should follow suit and submit to this trend.

By embracing the wrong ideas and abandoning free markets, the best way to reduce poverty, the World Economic Forum at Davos went from leading to following

Unfortunately, by embracing the wrong ideas and abandoning free markets, the best way to reduce poverty, the World Economic Forum at Davos went from leading to following, filling its presentations with empty messages from people who paid more attention to the pressure of minority activists than to global problems.

Many leaders became servants of predatory statism. It seemed that Davos had embraced the 2030 Agenda and the Sao Paulo Forum narrative, instead of being a forum of innovation and ideas for real economic progress.

The interventionist Davos has failed

In 2024, Javier Milei gave a historic speech reminding the attendants that merit, competition, free markets, and capitalism are the only ingredients that can end poverty and improve the economy.

Thousands of people realised they were not alone and should not support anti-freedom ideas. Davos attendants did not have to ask for forgiveness for creating jobs and prosperity, investing and innovating, or making a profit.

Milei reminded all Davos attendants that entrepreneurs and businesses are the real social justice and social warriors.

Davos should have led the response to interventionism with the force of truth and reason in the past years

The interventionist Davos has failed, and the economic elite has realised that they do not need to bow down to the new inquisition of wokeness.

Davos should have led the response to interventionism with the force of truth and reason in the past years.

Many managers, businessmen, and leaders stopped attending Davos because of the growing trend of interventionist messages. That may change soon.

Milei's speech

Milei's speech in Davos 2025 gathered an unprecedented crowd and online following. "Despite the rebirth of hope, it is our moral duty and historical responsibility to demolish the ideological edifice of sickly Wokeism." "Until we successfully reconstruct our historic cathedral, convince the majority of Western countries to reaffirm their commitment to freedom, and establish our ideas as the common currency in the halls of events such as these, we must persevere. This is because forums like this have helped advance Wokeism, which is harming the West. If we want to change, if we truly want to defend the citizens' rights, we must first start by telling them the truth."

"A good part of the free world still prefers the comfort of the known, even if it is the wrong path, and insists on applying the recipes of failure. And the great anvil that appears as a common denominator in the countries and institutions that are failing is the mental virus of the woke ideology. This is the great epidemic of our time that must be cured; it is the cancer that must be removed."

Welcome to the new Davos

The old Davos should understand that the recent promotion of elite socialism has slowed the reduction of poverty, revived the threat of inflation, increased debt and taxes, and eroded the middle class.

Rich countries such as Germany, France, or the UK have stagnated due to the 2030 agenda, net zero, and endless public spending programmes known as "stimulus".

Regrettably, Von der Leyen declared this week that the European Union will continue on its current path. However, the incredible success of the Trump and Milei speeches reminds us that things are changing globally.

Davos without the woke inquisitorial censorship will again be a forum of open and intelligent debate.

The WEF in Davos has the opportunity of erasing from the tombstone of memory things like "You will have nothing, but you will be happy," “Social control policies are essential to combat climate change,” or "Companies must forget economic objectives."

Welcome to the new Davos if it becomes a forum for freedom and serious debate, not for interventionist mantras.