Regardless of whether the allegations of sexual harassment and racism against the World Economic Forum (WEF) are true or false, there are some lessons to be learned from them. The Wall Street Journal (Shalini Ramachandran and Khadija Safdar, “Behind the scenes at Davos, reports of poor working conditions“, The Wall Street JournalJune 29, 2024) and its follow-up (“World Economic Forum Launches Board Survey on Workplace CultureTo summarize the investigation report (July 19, 2024): The Wall Street JournalUnique terminology:
Under Schwab’s decades of oversight, Forum allowed a hostile atmosphere toward women and Black people to develop in the workplace, according to whistle-blower reports, email exchanges and interviews with dozens of current and former employees and others familiar with Forum’s practices.
To the extent that the allegations are true, they will demonstrate how hypocritical people can subvert the trendy DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideals they claim to uphold. To the extent that the allegations are false, they will demonstrate how ideals of collectivism and victimhood can incite amoral or resentful employees to falsely accuse innocent individuals. Either way, the WEF will be caught in the trap of its own ideals.
The World Economic Forum, famous for its Davos meeting, is “economic” only in the sense that it is, broadly speaking, a cartel of business leaders, interest seekers and politicians who seek to use the coercive power of the state to defraud ordinary citizens. Its unifying idea seems to be that collective choices take absolute priority over individual choices, imposed with their vague tinges of nationalism. The organization jumps on any fad (DEI being one) that might help it bolster its status and the power of its ideal rulers. Its founder and current chairman Klaus Schwab and his co-authors are quick to point out that other clichés (Klaus Schwab and Thierry Marréret, COVID-19: The Great Reset (Forum Publishing, 2020)):
In a post-pandemic world, questions of equity will come to the forefront, from stagnating real incomes for the majority of people to a redefinition of the social contract. … We are now at a crossroads. One path will lead us to a better world: more inclusive, more equitable and more respectful of Mother Nature.
(To further explain their chameleon-like softness, they say,Social “Equality” feels more scientific and serious than standard “social equality,” which may be decidedly outdated and too saturated with connotations of spontaneous order.
of The Wall Street Journal The survey found that:
The Forum sometimes struggles to live up to the ideals it preaches: promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
For example, in 2020, the WEF Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 4.0: A Leader’s Toolkit for Accelerating Social Progress in the Future of Work. the 2020-2021 Annual Report It boasts of being “embedded in diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice” and flaunts its racial conscience.
In response to the Black Lives Matter protests that have taken place in the U.S. and around the world over the past year, the Forum also launched the Partnership for Racial Justice in Business initiative. Nearly 60 companies have joined the coalition, pledging to take immediate action on racial justice within their own organizations and work together to drive systems change.
Consider sexual harassment. The modern zeitgeist tends to confuse sexual harassment with compliments that are neither vulgar nor bullying. As long as men and women work together, flirting insinuations and tensions are inevitable. Harassment and bullying are separate issues. Just as economics prevents ignoring individual choices, classical liberalism promotes a culture of respect and dignity for the individual. Its positive and normative theoretical background is based on individual consent. If individuals are considered to freely choose their exchange actions and to have a theoretical veto over collective choices, a culture of disparagement of the individual is less likely to develop.
The same applies to racial issues. The Wall Street JournalIn the example of the WEF, the management seems to be more responsive to vulgar racism in the work environment. The organization could still be sued or prosecuted for private discrimination, but this is consistent with the organization’s preference for government solutions to all problems. In an ideological environment that values power brokerage and individual attention, it is easy to imagine that discrimination based on mere group membership, a consequence of tribalism, would be more prevalent than in a culture that values individual dignity.
Libertarianism and classical liberalism constitute the only political philosophies that favor DEI in the sense of liberal diversity, formal equality, and individualism, as opposed to forced and artificial diversity, arbitrary equalization, and authoritarian inclusion. The WEF sides with the latter.
