# Why do people say the World economic forum is pushing socialist views? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 15, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610 "2024-02-15T17:17:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/81 "2024-02-19T19:26:05Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The WEF seems to think this is a good thing When you say things like this, you do seem to think it is supporting something. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/82 "2024-02-19T19:28:39Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The claim wasn’t ‘specific’, it was an example of a situation. I explained that in the pit thread. The general concept is that they mix speculative panels with serious ones, and it gives their enemies the ability to blend them together into crazy-sounding proposals. On that specifically, I actually agree with @Sam_Stone . The WEF tend to mix subjects without context, or worse, give them the wrong context. For instance, concerning the “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy” concept, it was originally part of a group reflection on possible futures for society. The author specifically considered this aspect to be negative/dystopian. But, in publicizing the group reflection in question, someone at the WEF had the bright idea of publishing a video where “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy” was shown with a young man breaking into a wide smile. Of course the message was interpreted as “the WEF wants you to be happy to own nothing” – in other words, “the WEF wants to eliminate private property”. I’m sure it was all just accidental, a consultant or an intern made the video and it got published without the grown-ups seeing it first. But it shows some degree of amateurism for an organisation that claims to want to help the world work better. ---
**Author:** ![Jackson99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@Jackson99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackson99)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/83 "2024-02-19T19:35:22Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > For instance, concerning the “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy” concept, it was originally part of a group reflection on possible futures for society. The author specifically considered this aspect to be negative/dystopian. But, in publicizing the group reflection in question, someone at the WEF had the bright idea of publishing a video where “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy” was shown with a young man breaking into a wide smile. Of course the message was interpreted as “the WEF wants you to be happy to own nothing” – in other words, “the WEF wants to eliminate private property”. And that is probably why Argentinian President Javier Milei may be saying what he said below. In a fiery and passionate speech, Argentinian President Javier Milei took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and delivered a powerful message about the virtues of freedom and capitalism. Milei, a libertarian economist and outspoken critic of government intervention, argued that the West is facing a serious threat from the rise of socialism, which he defined as "the intrusion of the state into the economy and the degradation of society.” Milei called for a return to the principles of individual liberty and free markets, which he said are the keys to prosperity and progress. “The state is not the solution, the state is the problem itself,” he declared. "You are the true protagonist of this story. And rest assured that as from today, Argentina is your staunch unconditional ally.” Milei’s speech was met with a mix of applause and boos from the audience, but it is sure to generate a lot of discussion and debate. This is a real speech conducted by Javier Milei at the World Economic Forum. AI was used to translate Javier Milei post from Spanish to English and read in his voice. You can find the original and AI versions in description and comments below ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/84 "2024-02-19T19:35:53Z")
Can that quote be attributed to Klaus Schwab, the founder of WEF? ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/85 "2024-02-19T19:42:16Z")
It’s certainly not a quote from him. Can somebody mint political capital by attributing it to him? Of course they can. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/86 "2024-02-19T19:43:42Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > I’m sure it was all just accidental, a consultant or an intern made the video and it got published without the grown-ups seeing it first. But it shows some degree of amateurism for an organisation that claims to want to help the world work better. That’s probably the video I saw, and which the WEF has taken down so it can’t be cited. And of course it’s possible that I misremembered it as coming from Schwab. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/87 "2024-02-19T19:45:01Z")
Your post appears to be an unattributed quote from somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/88 "2024-02-19T19:46:01Z")
Seems strange to so confidently attribute that quote to him if one’s intent isn’t to purposely push false information. But who knows, never attribute malice and all that maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/89 "2024-02-19T19:53:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The claim wasn’t ‘specific’, it was an example of a situation. So it was false. An example is a specific instance of something. If your example didn’t happen, it’s not an example. But this may be a matter for ATMB. Should I assume, going forward, that when you offer an example, the example may be something you invented? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/90 "2024-02-19T20:00:03Z")
There was a video in which it was stated, which was taken down so I couldn’t see it again. It’s always possible that I misremembered the statement coming from Klaus Schwab. I asked Bing, and it said that the phrase comes from an author on the web site, and also from their “Predictions 2030” program, but that Bing could not find Schwab himself actually saying it. So I will retract the part about Schwab saying it, because I’m not going to look any further. Frankly, I think this was really a nitpick. You got hung up on whether that specific person said it, ignoring the larger point about how saying that stuff in one session while having serious sessions on the same topic is giving theor opponents ammo to conflate things. Very early on in this I described what was actually meant by the phrase, which was just a prediction of current trends, not a call to action. But you avoided engaging with the pount so you could focus on the one thing you thought you could ‘get’ me with. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/91 "2024-02-19T20:56:42Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I never said anything like that! I explicitly said that the “you will own nothing, have no privacy and like it” is a statement about current trends and where they are going, and the belief that more and more things are heading for a service/rental model rather than outright purchase. No, you explicitly said in post #33 in this very thread that this was a direct quote from Klaus Schwab himself. You even used quote marks. You said that this statement was possibly where the socialist worry about the WEF comes from. Yet, cites here have shown that Scwab “himself” said no such thing. The quote came from someone who explicitly said that their words did not represent policy of the WEF. The quote came from someone who was intending to open up dialogue about this topic - NOT TO SUPPORT IT. So you misrepresented the actual intent of the quote, and misattributed the quote to someone else (Karl Schwab “himself”). This was wrong. You were wrong. Wherever you got this idea from was misleading you. You were misled by your sources. OWN. IT. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/92 "2024-02-19T21:05:20Z")
And I said so RIGHT ABOVE your message. Allow me to quote: > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > There was a video in which it was stated, which was taken down so I couldn’t see it again. **It’s always possible that I misremembered the statement coming from Klaus Schwab.** So my error, if it was, was attributing it to Schwab himself. But it was certainly said at the WEF, and posted on their web site. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/93 "2024-02-19T21:06:23Z")
It’s possible, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/94 "2024-02-19T21:34:29Z")
I would draw your attention to post 56 of this very thread, wherein the original author of the piece states the following: _ **Author’s note:** Some people have read this blog as my utopia or dream of the future. It is not. It is a scenario showing where we could be heading - for better and for worse. I wrote this piece to start a discussion about some of the pros and cons of the current technological development. When we are dealing with the future, it is not enough to work with reports. We should start discussions in many new ways. This is the intention with this piece._ And no, you remembering a video or facebook post or something were you think Karl Schwab repeated this phrase as WEF policy, but somehow the video or posting mysteriously disappeared does not count. ETA, also post 58 or so: Which quoted the actual author of the piece, Ida Auken _The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum._ ---
**Author:** ![Jackson99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@Jackson99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackson99)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/95 "2024-02-19T21:38:14Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Can that quote be attributed to Klaus Schwab, the founder of WEF? What quote the quote you will own nothing and you will be happy? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/96 "2024-02-19T21:43:26Z")
I already said the same thing! I said the WEF has taken to adding disclaimers to articles so that they aren’t assumed to be official WEF positions. Again, you seem to be arguing against positions I do not hold. So far, the only thing I’ve said that may be wrong is that Klaus Schwab himself did not say it. But it WAS said at the WEF in a video, and it was the title of an article on the web site. Again, I KNOW this doesn’t mean the WEF is trying to do this stuff. I offered it up as an example of how the RIGHT conflates these things. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/97 "2024-02-19T21:44:19Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > Can somebody mint political capital by attributing it to him? Of course they can. Just so we’re clear, this sentence wasn’t targeted at @Sam_Stone . ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/98 "2024-02-19T21:45:35Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Again, you seem to be arguing against positions I do not hold. So far, the only thing I’ve said that may be wrong is that Klaus Schwab himself did not say it. May be wrong, eh? Come on… ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/99 "2024-02-19T21:51:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Again, you seem to be arguing against positions I do not hold. No, I’m arguing against the position you put forward in post #33, and then tried to rationalize as "oh, what I _meant_ was not that the WEF has said this, and that Karl Schwab actually said that, but I _meant_ that this was the false position that right wing sites are promoting. It would appear that this was merely a post hoc rationalization that was pulled out of thin air once it was apparent that you had misquoted and misunderstood the words you quoted in post #33. Because it was obvious that your post #33 was intended to convey that the WEF was indeed socialist, and here is the quote by the top guy to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610/100 "2024-02-19T21:59:30Z")
Okay, this is now just another version of the pit thread, and a complete hijack. I’ll respond in the pit thread, but not here. In fact, I’m taking myself out of this thread and will not respond in it at all, to prevent future hijacks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-say-the-world-economic-forum-is-pushing-socialist-views/997610.md?page=6)