Khanna: Davos Is ‘More of the Problem’ — It’s ‘Cosmopolitanism for Elites’ that Forgets Citizens

During an interview aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN International’s “Amanpour,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) stated that the World Economic Forum in Davos is “More of the problem” and you can’t have a “cosmopolitanism that is a cosmopolitanism for elites and forgets the concerns of citizens in those nations.”

Author and Tulane History Professor Walter Isaacson asked, “A lot of the big corporate leaders and world bankers are gathering in Davos today as we speak. Davos has always been sort of a symbol of globalization and, to some extent, free trade. Is the World Economic Forum in Davos part of the problem or part of the solution?”

Khanna responded, “More of the problem, I think, than the solution. If anything, because it looks out of touch. I wish there could be a Davos in Cincinnati, Ohio. Why don’t we have someone convene all our business leaders, all our education leaders, government leaders in a place like Ohio to say, how do we have a resurgence of American manufacturing? If America succeeds in renewing our productive capacity, if we create jobs in places left out, we will become a better, stronger democracy and we will be a better citizen of the world. But you can’t start by having a cosmopolitanism that is a cosmopolitanism for elites and forgets the concerns of citizens in those nations. Cosmopolitanism, globalization [have] to be rooted. And I think we had for 20, 30 years was a globalization that worked for some who were flying to Berlin, London, and around the world but forgot about a lot of people who were living in the communities in this country.”

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