SHOULD WE FEAR THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM'S "GREAT RESET"?
INTRODUCTION:
In this meetup, we'll take a deep dive into the nature of the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-governmental organization that host annual get-togethers for business leaders, politicians, scholars, and journalists in Davos, Switzerland. We'll explore several of their ideas & initiatives, particularly those that have recently aroused controversy in relation to the so-called "Great Reset" the WEF has been promoting.
In the first section, we'll look at the World Economic Forum's history, it's role in promoting "stakeholder capitalism", and some of the common criticisms of the WEF regarding its role in the formation of a wealthy global elite without attachment to nation-states, undemocratic decision-making processes, and a lack of financial transparency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum
Since the WEF is a big promoter of "sustainable development" incoordination with the United Nations, in the second section we'll look at the UN's "Agenda 21" -- a non-binding action plan that was a product of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, back in 1992. We'll also discuss "Agenda 2030", also known as the "Sustainable Development Goals", which were decided upon at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015 and built on the goals set by Agenda 21, resulting in a list of 17 goals that have been agreed on, revolving around the concepts of "people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals
In the third section, we'll talk about how back in October the International Monetary Less Fund (IMF) managing director called for a “new Bretton Woods moment" - i.e. a new international monetary system - and we'll see how this relates to the idea of a "true global currency" the WEF began promoting in 2019. This has worried many Americans who follow financial news, who fear that it means the dollar may be replaced as the world's reserve currency which could reduce U.S. buying power overseas and possibly led to a national debt crisis. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/is-it-time-for-a-true-global-currency
In the fourth section, we'll discuss the WEF's concept of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution", the trend towards automation and interconnectivity in manufacturing technologies which include cyber-physical systems (CPS), the industrial internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. While these technologies could have major benefits for society, they've also raised fears of technological unemployment and mass surveillance. These fears were amplified back in the summer of 2020 when the WEF released a promotional video based on a 2016 essay by the Danish MP Ida Auken that presented their vision for 2030, saying "Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Industrial_Revolution https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/how-life-could-change-2030/
RELEVANT MATERIAL FROM PAST MEETUPS:
In the 1st section of this meetup, we'll discuss the nature of the World Economic Forum and try to gauge the "soft power" it wields. In June of 2019, we had a meetup entitled "Neoliberals, Neocons & NWO 2.0" and in Part 2 we discussed the history of the World Economic Forum, as well as the way that the terms "globalist" and "Davos man" can be used as insults, buzzwords, and/or shorthand for the type of corporate jet-setters & government bureaucrats who regularly attend the WEF's annual gathering. https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/nfbkqqyzhbjc/
The 2nd section of this meetup deals with the WEF & UN's promotion of "sustainable development". In August of 2019, we had a meetup entitled "Is Urban Planning Rife With Conspiracies" and on Part 4 we discussed the UN's Agenda 21 in the context of the debate over "smart growth" and a supposed "war on the suburbs" and a "war on cars". https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/rgrhxqyzlbpb/
The 3rd section of our meetup deals with the international monetary system & the dollar's current status as the world reserve currency. In October of 2019, we had a meetup entitled "Do Bankers Rule the World?" The 4th part of that discussion looked at why Nixon took the U.S. dollar off the gold standard, and how Kissinger brokered a deal with the Saudis to only accept dollar for their oil in return for military aid, thus giving rise to the "petrodollar" system which has helped preserve the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/rgrhxqyznbjb/
In an earlier iteration of the meetup entitled "Do Bankers Rule the World?" in Oct. 2018, we covered various "goldbug" theories about the superiority of the gold standard, along with fears that the U.S. might have depleted its gold reserves while China was stealthily accumulating gold in an effort to launch a gold-backed Yuan - see Part 3 of the outline: https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/255695734/
Since the 3rd section of this discussion deals with fears that other nations will soon "dump the dollar", it's worth pointing out that we've covered this before as it relates to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Back in Nov. 2019, the Skeptics meetup covered some common misconceptions and conspiracy theories about U.S. foreign policy misadventures in the Middle East. In Part 3 of the discussion outline, we discussed the Libyan civil war and rumors that the U.S. intervened because Gaddafi was about to launch a gold-backed pan-African currency that would challenge the dollar: https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/rgrhxqyzpbfb/
The final section will look at the WEF's prediction that technological innovation is leading to a "Fourth Industrial Revolution". This is essentially a less dramatic version of what futurists call the "Singularity", a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization. We've discussed this concept in a meetup back in 2019, and we'll revisit it in an upcoming group discussion later in February. https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/kwpswryccdblc/
The WEF is often compared to similar international organizations that host meetings with heads of industry & government officials, particularly the Bilderberg Meetings. We covered the Bilderberg Group in a meetup back in May of 2019 entitled "Who's Behind the New World Order" - see Part 3 of the discussion outline: https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/nfbkqqyzhbqb/
Since concerns about the WEF tend to blend over into broader issues with globalization, you may want to look at our past coverage of that topic. In October of 2018, we had a meetup where we discussed the research we have on the economic effects of globalization, as well as left-wing arguments from Naomi Klein book The Shock Doctrine & John Perkins' book Confessions of an Economic Hitman about the evil schemes they allege underlie globalization. We also discussed right-wing concerns over an alleged covert plan to unite the US with Canada & Mexico in a "North American Union": https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/255269097/
