Global corporations are replacing the role of governments
Corporations are answering the younger generations’ call for individuality
Speaking this afternoon at the 43rd World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Shimon Peres, President of Israel, said the world is becoming ungovernable. “Governments have found themselves unemployed because the economy has become global while governments remain national,” he said.
Peres described his view that global companies are replacing the role of governments. “Forty global companies have more fortune than all the governments in the world,” he pointed out, going on to say that global corporations are answering the expectation of individuality which defines the younger generations. “Young people are not satisfied by the attempt to be equal,” he said. “They are satisfied by the attempt to be different.”
He also credited global companies with reducing racism. “You cannot be global and racist,” he said.
In a conversation with Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Peres described the three themes he believes will define the next generation.
Firstly, national governments, because they cannot run economies or companies, will be relegated to simple husbandry of the state. Secondly, there will be continuing empowerment of global corporations that will handle global investment and innovation. Thirdly, deeper understanding of the human mind will help people to make better decisions.
Peres concluded by describing his hopefulness for the future. “I never lost anything by believing or by hoping. Better to create hope than to suggest hopelessness,” he said. “Live as an optimist. I tried it for 90 years and it’s not bad.”
The 43rd World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is taking place from 23 to 27 January under the theme Resilient Dynamism. More than 2,500 participants from over 100 countries are taking part in the Meeting. Participants include nearly 50 heads of state or government and more than 1,500 business leaders from the Forum’s 1,000 Member companies, as well as Social Entrepreneurs, Global Shapers, Young Global Leaders and representatives from civil society, media, academia and the arts.
