In Europe, slight clue begins to dawn…
…but is bravely shaken off.
The global elite are meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week for their annual shindig but, as Donald Trump waits to be inaugurated as US President, the world’s power-brokers are struggling to come up with answers to the rise of ‘populism’…
Moises Naim, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: ‘There is a consensus that something huge is going on, global and in many respects unprecedented. But we don’t know what the causes are, nor how to deal with it.’…
Last year the consensus at Davos was that Trump had no chance of being nominated, let alone elected.
But then the global elite also never dreamed Britain would vote to leave the European Union.
I don’t fault them for those predictions; they were the predictions of most people. But a failure to figure out why it happened—what the causes are—is preposterous. And the article contains quite a few examples of the rationalizations of some of the atendees.
The fault, dear “global elites,” is not in your stars,
But in yourselves, that you are underlings.
Or that you are becoming underlings.
Angela Merkel will not be at the meeting. She’s facing a tough election.
Huge but hardly unprecedented. People discovered their dignity.
I’ve stated before that all this was predicted and explained very well in:
https://spectator.org/39326_americas-ruling-class-and-perils-revolution/
This was written in 2010 and explains the causes of the world revolution in great detail. Anyone who had read this would not have been surprised by either Brexit or the election of Trump.
The hallways of power are filled with people who have limited imaginations when it comes to the thoughts and desires of those who walk down Main Street. The elite scheme for a borderless world ruled by themselves. History has a way of not unfolding as planned.
“…the world’s power-brokers are struggling to come up with answers to the rise of ‘populism’…”
…make me wonder ‘what exactly is the question’?
Joe Biden, in a rare reflective moment, conceded – did I mention this story before? – that the Dems had ignored the productive center of the country to their electoral cost. Ignored it that is, when not openly despising it as an impediment to the brave new world the Dems figured they were unstoppably cultivating.
He rhetorically asked why his party could not sympathize with some poor sap, in say the Ohio rustbelt, struggling along, as Joe viewed it, with a wife and two kids on a meager 100k a year.
Someone should have told him that the figure for household income was about $50k and a bit more, and personal income around $31k.
Biden, for all his good intentions clearly had no effen idea what Americans in the middle have for decades now tolerated in the name of social “fairness”, redistributive generosity, civic decency, and in the way of accepting personal responsibility for losses incurred under politically generated conditions. And the left in general have no idea of how completely they have used up whatever formal credit as fellow citizens they might have formerly enjoyed.
Exactly right Neo.
The best part of the last 11 weeks or so has been visiting leftish websites and experiencing how they are all befouling themselves.
Typically, BHO is a giant who will be exceeded by midgets. And it will take a miracle for President-Elect Trump not to destroy the world!
This has been great fun. They simply don’t have a clue as to why this election, or Brexit, or Bibi’s retention in Israel happened.
It appears as though the Left actually believes the crap they have been spewing. Who knew?
Success insulates against much of life’s vicissitudes. Ideas rather than reality become the primary determinate when insulated by wealth and position from reality.
Codevilla’s insights, regardless of value do not obviate Obama’s current 57% approval rating. Nor that at least as many Americans voted for Hillary as for Trump. The division is deep and quite possibly, irreconcilable. Neutering the elite will not resolve that chasm.
“National Association of Scholars Report: Reveals Massive Indoctrination of Students at Universities Through ‘Transformative Civic Engagement’”
“Moises Naim, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: ‘There is a consensus that something huge is going on, global and in many respects unprecedented. But we don’t know what the causes are, nor how to deal with it.’…”
I wonder if M. Naim thought that the uber elite, after figuring out just what was going on, should just learn to cope, or try to stop it in its tracks.
Moises Naim, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: ‘There is a consensus that something huge is going on, global and in many respects unprecedented. But we don’t know what the causes are, nor how to deal with it.’…
Moisés Naém has previous experience with “something huge going on…unprecedented,” as he is Venezuelan. He served as Minister of Trade and Industry before Chavez was elected. He got out of Venezuela before Chavez was elected in 1998, when he became editor of Foreign Policy magazine in 1996.
Don’t know what the causes are, Dr. Naim? As one would say in Venezuela, Escucha, pana. Listen, guy.
The progressive elites have all been hooked on John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Imagine no countries. Imagine no war. Imagine no possessions. Imagine no Heaven or religion. Imagine no hunger or greed.
They all believe it’s achievable. They just have to keep brain washing more and more people. Anything seems possible when you are a wealthy internationalist with a deep seated desire to assuage any guilt you might have by doing “the right thing.”
As Wretchard at The Belmont Club quoted in a recent post: “The IF also cites the failure of EU members to “secure their future competitiveness” by “transitioning to high-skill, low-carbon ‘knowledge economies.’”
That phrase – high-skill, low carbon, knowledge economies – is a lot like the song Imagine. It’s imaginary. What they don’t get is that modernity itself depends on basic stuff – oil/gas production, mining, logging, agriculture, construction, and manufacturing – which creates the wealth and the infrastructure that allows a “knowledge” economy. But it is high carbon and will be for at least the next 100 years. It is the producers who work in the hard, dirty jobs that make the rest of it all possible. Also the satisfaction and decent livings that people get from doing those jobs is what puts bread on tables and roofs over heads for much of the middle class. The elites have been trying to kill those jobs for 40 years now and the people finally took notice. But don’t tell that to a tech billionaire, a hedge fund millionaire, a hi falutin’ Keynesian economist, or slick-minded political operative. They don’t want to hear it. It is too hard to IMAGINE.
J.J.:
I invite you to check out, on YouTube, the song “Imagine Dead John Lennon,” by Times New Viking. Snotty teenage garage band singing —
“Yeah he had a reason,
He had a reason to die.”
Comedy gold somehow.
Human life poses an obstacle to realizing a low carbon civilization. I wonder when they realized that selective-child would be voluntarily accepted, even welcomed, where one-child would raise ethical and moral concerns.
The Global Elites do not understand? Of course they don’t.
There is no precedent? Well, actually there are many precedents in which the established order was unexpectedly overturned. The Romanovs come immediately to mind. They did not understand the trajectory of change either; until reality was forced on them.
In other cultures, when the rot became unbearable there was the sword, the gun, or even the pitchfork. In ours, there is the ballot box. Let us hope that instrument of change continues to be viable. (Those who wish to delegitimize the orderly, peaceful transfer of power should take heed, because historically the masses resorted to other means.)
The wise Statesman will recognize the flow of the river and seek to ride the crest when it is impossible to battle the current. The Left, unfortunately…
Neo said: “Angela Merkel will not be at the meeting. She’s facing a tough election.”
And Merkel is no doubt quietly grateful for the boost Trump just gave to her candidacy.
(Gerhard Schré¶der showed how useful, politically, a quarrel with an American president can be for a German chancellor.)
A picture is worth a thousand words (but read the set-up anyway).
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/01/rip-van-reporter.php
The Global Elites are the clearest evidence that it is scum that rises to the top of the pond.
I think you don’t fully understand german politics.
While Angela Merkel is seen as some kind of elite SJW, she’s the head of the CDU, she’s the german RIGHT. The CDU is the equivalent to the Republican Party.
German vote is becoming more nationalist and anti-immigration every day.
Merkel is boosting because there’s people going from the SPD (equivalent to the Democrat Party, german LEFT, which is even more pro-immigration than Merkel) to Merkel’s CDU. Merkel is boosting because for SPD voters, she’s becoming the lesser evil. And that’s why she will win. Not really a tough election for her.
But the Trump equivalent, which would be Alternative for Germany, keeps growing.
Yann, thanks for a great note on German politics which looks very true from my Slovak pov.
“The global economy is in better shape than it has been in years,” << what??
NOT in Venezuela.
NOT in Ohio.
NOT for the majority of net taxpayers in the world.
And probably even not such great shape for those non-working poor, including semi-disabled (disability claims hugely higher), so long out of the market they've stopped looking for work, and often 25% or more of 20-30 year old young adults.
The stock market and indices of economic health which measure "what's good for the elites" has, indeed, been in better shape than since 2008 Fin crisis and Big Bailout for the elite.
But is it really true that "what's good for the elites is good for America, and the world"? — The Davos folk think yes; I think no.
We need various forms of Wealth taxes, more than income taxes, on stocks & bonds & real estate. To reduce the gov't deficit.
We also need reduced regulations, and fewer regulator-bureaucrats.
What was troublesome and scary to me the last decade is personal degeneration of the world political elite. No statesmen, no inspiring leaders, only faceless bureaucrats repeating the same stale and annoying nonsense. The same impression as in fading days of Soviet Union. Ideology divorced from reality and devolving into ritualistic mantras.
Today watched on Euronews in direct translation from Brussels the election of new head of Europarlament. What a petty spectacle! The first time, they were unable to come to coalition agreement before actual voting. 8 possible candidates for the office, and nobody looks bright or up to the job. In times of existential crisis of the whole Europroject EU looks leaderless and confused.
Compare college pre feminism and women to college post feminism, and you have everythign you need to know about the global elite… you know who is going to be out (ya think they wont figure white women make eveil white racist men and if you get rid of the source….) then you have the social justice warriors who want toxic maleness out.. and the guys not able to be in the miltiary, no way to make things, all the training men had to be real men not beta wastes…
all that is wht davos and others rely on
as we cant save ourselves from the kind of people out in the world that werent so smart as to make us indefensibly weak
but its been a busy two weeks
troops move to latvia
troops moved to lithuania
troops/tanks now moved to ukraine
troops/tanks now moved to poland
marines this weekend moved to norway
how we doing for setting up the next war which we wont be able to fight… because the men have nothing to fight FOR… think hard on that.. fight for family? it doesnt want you… fight for society? it calls you evil and takes your jobs and punishes you… fight for what? naked pictures of bela abzug?
its going to be very interesting…
can you imagine todays college educated fighting chosin river? how about the women? they are what will have to defend us and post war, there wont be anyone left to have the kids to repalce what is lost.
so much fun
and the most fun is that the victims defend their place
and completly refuse to asses how bent over the party desk they are…
By the time you have risen in the ranks–military, corporate, political…. you have made a number of decisions that worked out well. If not, you would not have risen.
Problem is, some good decisions (given the knowledge and resources available) can sometimes come to grief due to pesky luck.
And some lousy decisions can sometimes be redeemed by unanticipated…pesky luck.
But by the time you’re up there, looking back, all your decisions were great (or you wouldn’t be up there) and, bingo, you’re a great decision-maker, never wrong, and anybody who argues is a fool, not to be taken seriously.
Then, to take a Korean example, comes the Chinese Army.
Tucker Carlson Interviews Former Black Panther Mason Weaver SLAMS John Lewis 1/16/17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZdESaBa0Gg&feature=youtu.be
On January 16, 2017 edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host Tucker Carlson welcomed former Black Panther party member mason weaver who came on and destroyed John Lewis. Mason Weaver takes on John Lewis the Congressional Black Caucus for teaming up with the “oppressor” democrat party
Artfldgr, I saw that interview last night. Wow, just wow!
Tucker Carlson has become a veritable Attila the Hun in taking on the progs and shining the light on truth wherever it may be. Who knew a preppy guy in a Brooks Brothers blazer and rep tie could expose his inner Hulk that way? Tucker Carlson has become must see TV. ( Sorry Megyn, we don’t miss you.) 🙂
I used to like Tucker Carlson, early on. But The Daily Caller plays fast and loose with the facts, and his interviews are charades. A liberal says something liberal, Carlson rolls his eyes and misrepresents what the liberal said, the liberal gets angry, and Carlson berates him for it, all the while acting like he’s just a newsman trying to get at the truth. He reminds me of mid-career Maury Povich, still clinking to pretensions of decency but headed toward the lie detectors and paternity tests. I don’t think I’ve ever learned anything from Carlson or his projects.
Nick, “A liberal says something liberal, Carlson rolls his eyes and misrepresents what the liberal said, the liberal gets angry, and Carlson berates him for it, all the while acting like he’s just a newsman trying to get at the truth.”
It doesn’t amuse you to see progs try to outwit him and fall far short? Yes, he often plays a bit dirty. Isn’t it about time someone gave them a taste of their own medicine? He is using the Socratic method to show how weak progressive ideas are. It may not be your cuppa, but I’m loving every minute of it.
Big deal, he can win on a skewed playing field. Personally, I hold the ideas I do because I believe they can win on a level playing field, and I’m sick to death of people who refuse to play on one.
@Nick – entertainment is valued over information and understanding.
Of course there are many on the left who are like this.
We complain loudly that the left behaves this way, calling them low info voters, and, yet, we enjoy scoring points engaging in the same.
This is where we break down into red vs blue team politics, and head down the path of self selecting “truth”.