Ann Pettifor

From the black hole of Davos…rays of light shine through

Ann Pettifor: 31st January, 2009

“Davos” said a delegate to me as we sipped champagne in the art-nouveau-style lobby of the Schatzalp Hotel “is full of  men gnashing and wailing, dazed and confused by the debt-deflationary spiral.   As the newspapers have faithfully recorded the Davos sessions have provided little in the way of strategic direction out of this black hole…Instead there have been lots of rather hapless suggestions: ‘lets try this…No, hang on,  why don’t we try that….? by the very men appointed and elected as stewards, managers and guardians of the financial system.

On a panel entitled “the values behind capitalism”  Mrs Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsico conspicuously distanced herself and her company  from ‘the financiers’. The capitalism of “main street”, she said, was being declared guilty by association “with the other street” – Wall Street.

Good for her.  Later, just as the US stock market tanked again….she appeared as a ray of light at an event billed ‘An Important Dinner for Women’.  Present were 100 of the world’s most effective women, including Arianna Huffington, Melinda Gates, Christiane Amanpour of CNN, Shriti Vadera (overseeing the British bank bail-out) Dr. Margaret Chan,  Head of WHO, Mrs Sarah Brown wife of the British Prime Minister,  Ngozi Okonjo Iweala of the World Bank – and yours truly.

We were gathered together, courtesy of Matthew Freud, to strategise and organise to save the lives of millions of mothers.  In other words, to recognise that unlike financiers, mothers lay sound and lasting foundations for any nation’s economy.   While we can do without financiers stripping us of our savings and assets, we can’t do without mothers. For without their prudent management generations would not be fed, clothed, nursed, loved, educated, civilised and sent out into the world.

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5 thoughts on “From the black hole of Davos…rays of light shine through”

  1. Pingback: Arianna Huffington: Davos Notes: The Great Repression, Homer as the Original UGC, and Is America theNew Argentina? - CHASTER - All Around The World

  2. The conclusion is very good it shows a bit into the psychology of economicsts who do not include the

    housework in the states national accounts.
    I think its something similar to the ecologists who don’t want to see the natural enviornment being

    assesed in monetary terms because it is philosophically incorrect and it is dear to them.
    So I am not imagining an economist saying “I wont

    asses the value laid to the economy by housewife. You can’t trade-off through evaluation such an essential good!”

    Im basically just joking

    around as I am new to your blog. But, do keep them coming since I enjoy your blog and I find good content to it at the same time!

  3. Thank you for your piece on the women’s dinner at Davos and shining the light on the global campaign

    underway to save the lives of women who die needlessly – one every minute of every day – due to the complications of pregnancy and childbirth. We

    so agree that mothers are the heart and driving force of any successful plan to lead the world out of this spiraling crash. Or, to say it the way

    we do: When mothers survive childbirth, they give birth to healthier families, communities and nations. I am the Communications Director for the

    White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA). Sarah Brown is our patron and partner mobilizing people from all walks of life to demand that

    investments be made to strengthen health systems and increase skilled health workers so every woman gets care taken for granted by most women in

    the world today. That is why leading voices in the US have joined with WRA and CARE to launch Mothers Day Every Day: The Campaign for Healthy Moms

    and Newborns on February 26 at a Capital Hill briefing hosted by Congressional leaders to call for greater US leadership. Ann, I would like to

    provide you with more info in the hopes that you might help us spread the word. Please email me at [email protected]

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