Key Takeaways
- The Great Reset is an initiative created by the World Economic Forum.
- The Great Reset initiative consists of five key points to achieve a more sustainable global economy and social system.
- Backed by many prominent business leaders and policymakers worldwide.
- The goal of the Great Reset is to reinvent capitalism to stakeholder capitalism.
You have probably seen or heard the term the “Great Reset” mentioned by right-wing pundits and conservative radio hosts at one time or another. Many have characterized this initiative as a vast global conspiracy by financial elites and world leaders conspiring to create a ‘New World Order.’
I must admit. When I heard of the Great Reset, my mind harked back to 2009 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the prop reset button as a gesture to renew our relationship with Russian.
Writing on the Great Reset is not an easy task to shoulder. It’s akin to trying to delicately untangle my wife’s many necklaces without breaking a single one.
Trust me; it’s not easy.
However, let’s take a stab at trying to layout the Great Reset without going down the conspiracy route.
What is the Great Reset?
The World Economic Forum (WEF) hosts an annual, exclusive, invite-only get-together with big business tycoons and political elites at the Swiss ski resort in Davos. Business professor Klaus Schwab founded this organization in 1971. This forum could only be described as an exclusive TedTalk focused on world issues, with the sole purpose of engaging global stakeholders consisting of private-public partnerships for international cooperation.
What makes this forum unique is it brings “together with the world’s foremost CEOs, heads of state, ministers and policymakers, experts and academics, international organizations, youth, technology innovators and representatives of civil society in an impartial space with the aim of driving positive change.”
The WEF claims to be “impartial, global, holistic, and forward-thinking” in its approach to the challenges of the day.
Now let’s flash forward. The world was brought to its knees by the shockwaves caused by the coronavirus pandemic. They claim this was the driving motivator in creating the Great Reset initiative. In their manifesto, they proclaim the pandemic provided the opportunity to ‘reset and reshape‘ the global economy by prioritizing sustainable development centered on the three P’s: planet, people, and profit.
Read: How Lack of Civic Knowledge is Destroying American Democracy
Behind this lofty initiative are the architects Charles, Prince of Wales, and WEF director and founder, Klaus Schwab.
During a virtual World Economic Forum in 2020, Prince Charles said this about what the pandemic has made possible:
“We have a golden opportunity to seize something good from this crisis. Its unprecedented shockwaves may well make people more receptive to big visions of change.”
The WEF unveiled its big vision of change with the Great Reset initiative as Prince Charles laid out the group’s five-point plan to make this change possible.
Five-Point Plan of the Great Reset
The Great Reset initiative (aka the Davos Manifesto) consists of five key points to achieve a more sustainable global economy and social system. The WEF’s plan is only possible if they bring together the private sector as the engine for change.
Many prominent business leaders and policymakers back this initiative, and we also have seen many politicians-even President Biden adopt the slogan “Build Back Better.”
During a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Prince Charles outlined the initiatives five points:
- To capture the imagination and will of humanity – change will only happen if people really want it.
- The economic recovery must put the world on the path to sustainable employment, livelihoods, and growth. Longstanding incentive structures that have had perverse effects on our planetary environment and nature herself must be reinvented
- Systems and pathways must be redesigned to advance net zero transitions globally. Carbon pricing can provide a critical pathway to a sustainable market.
- Science, technology, and innovation need re-invigorating. Humanity is on the verge of catalytic breakthroughs that will alter our view of what is possible and profitable in the framework of a sustainable future.
- Investment must be rebalanced. Accelerating green investments can offer job opportunities in green energy, the circular and bio-economy, eco-tourism and green public infrastructure.
On the surface, many of these points most Americans would nod in agreement. However, upon closer examination, one discovers at the heart of this initiative is the reinvention of capitalism to “stakeholder capitalism.” Klaus Schwab lamented:
“We should seize this moment to ensure that stakeholder capitalism remains the new dominant model.”
One learns stakeholder capitalism is not a new idea. The origins can be traced back to academics Adolf A. Berle and Gardiner C. Means in their 1932 management classic, The Modern Corporation, and Private Property.
In short, stakeholder capitalism places private corporations as “trustees” of society as the best response to social and environmental challenges we face today.
These premier thinkers and elites believe the private sector to be the ‘engines’ to guide the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, taking their own words at face value, stakeholder capitalism brings together these stakeholders to form an oligarchy political system.
Why this matters
For decades, progressives and environmentalists have attempted to use climate change as a gateway to justify pushing their liberal policies to change our capitalist system radically.
It seems the Great Reset is no different.
However, the events from the last four years ranging from civil unrest and global instability caused by the pandemic, have shifted momentum in favor of adopting this initiative.
Frankly, the Great Reset comes off as a public relations stunt for businesses to gain in good graces with progressives and jumping on the latest wave of do-good environmentalism driven by the ‘Greta Thunberg effect.’
However, businesses and politicians are the self-interested actors that they are. This initiative can be the sleight of hand to shift power from the masses and consolidate power for the elite class to wield and for businesses to make money.
It’s challenging to examine the Great Reset without going down the conspiracy path. However, it’s not a conspiracy if it’s out in the open and not concealed. Business elites and policymakers are not necessarily coy or hush-hush about building back better in a more sustainable way.
Not surprising, President Joe Biden has been open about addressing climate change and environmental justice. The Biden administration will support the ‘Great Reset,’ as climate czar John Kerry has confirmed this at a panel about the Great Reset hosted by WEF back in mid-November.
Jay A. Michaels is a Founder and editor for ThinkCivics. He has been writing about politics, government, and culture for over a decade.
