The World Economic Forum kicks off its annual Swiss chalet shindig in Davos tomorrow — although “shindig” may not be the right word to describe the intense concentration of wealth and power that will be on display. It comes at a moment when the world is talking past itself. Wars grind on, trust is thin, institutions are wobbling, and technology is moving faster than politics can absorb. The question hanging over the Alps isn’t whether dialogue is nice to have — it’s whether it still has power.
That question gets sharper with U.S. President Donald Trump back in the room (so long as the agenda remains not “woke”). Trump's presence comes exactly a year after he shocked the world — including the Davos set — by halting all U.S. foreign assistance, triggering the downfall of the U.S. Agency for International Development (an anniversary we’ll be reflecting on all this week).
In the year since, the U.S. president has eliminated most aid programs, stepped away from multilateral commitments, and treated cooperation among traditional allies as optional. Davos has always been built around the idea that talking — and listening — matters. Trump’s record challenges that premise head-on.