BRICS Business Magazine English Edition No.5(16)

Looking at the broader issues discussed at the Davos Forum provides an easy way to understand the current agenda of the West. This is a world, first and foremost, of the most prominent businessmen and politicians, who think about medium- and even long-term problems like daily ones, which is perfectly correct. Maybe there is some frustration on the part of the public that the themes are repeated, and that their leaders are not reacting to all of the current problems, but I would like to draw attention to something else. The questions are so serious that any attempt to provide an answer is fraught with difficulties.

And so, on to the challenges facing the world. The first is preparation for the fourth industrial revolution. Everyone is already used to the flow of conversation about how technology is transforming society, and that how some countries are going to be left far behind. But the biggest changes are taking place on the human level. What happens to the very concept of work in rich and poor societies? Will the dream of full employment just cease to exist? The next challenge is about strengthening and improving international cooperation, making globalization more manageable. The existing structures were put in place far too long ago, they are cumbersome, noninclusive and don’t fit the reality of a multipolar world.

And it doesn’t stop there. The economy can’t keep up with demographics. We have to accept the idea that our standard of living will fall or – I have to mention it again – create billions of new jobs. At the same time, the goals of society and those of business, as many educated people see it, often diverge. Short-term thinking, egotistical behaviour and corruption get in the way, which is why market capitalism has to be reformed. And finally, across the globe there is falling trust in institutions and a loss of belief in the future. How this optimism can be returned is an epic job for a superhero to take on. Of course, all these challenges are interrelated, and it’s likely that the last one might seem a little alien, but I am convinced it is fundamental. Only countries that can create an atmosphere of trust and instil their population with confidence will be able to deal with the remaining challenges.