Thursday, May 23, 2024

Klaus Schwab To Step Aside As WEF Executive Chairman

The 86 year-old founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum will relinquish a post that he's held for 64% of his life and become chairman of the WEF's board of trustees by January, 2025.

 Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum Talks Progress | Time

 time.com

A German citizen, Schwab was educated in mechanical engineering in both Germany and Switzerland, also receiving a Master in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1967.   Schwab was professor of business policy at the  University of Geneva from 1972 to 2003, and since then has been an honorary professor there. He formed the WEF in 1971.

While Schwab was actually a disciple of Canadian Maurice Strong, his tenure in the public eye and continuing attempt to make seminal changes in society  through "stakeholder capitalism" somewhat resembles that of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an educated physicist, and his "transcendental meditation" and Science of Creative Intelligence, which was also located in Switzerland.

 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life ...

 thefamouspeople.com

The difference is that the Maharishi's "TM" is an entirely voluntary movement that attracted celebrities as well as government figures and ordinary people. Naturally, his successes inspired investigations and criticism. The Maharishi died in 2008 at age 90 but many of his ideas are embraced to this day, his books are still available, and educational institutions inspired by his teachings continue to exist, albeit with skepticism. 

In normal human terms, Schwab's existence is likely to come to an end soon. While he oversees an organization that rewards him with serious riches, 1 million Swiss francs annually, the odds that his ideas will continue to percolate long into the future, that The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be easily available, seems poor. While it's inevitable that technology will continue to change, human beings will probably remain, at least physically, the same as ever. Only their ideas and beliefs will be affected by whatever industrial revolution comes along. 

 

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