Davos Man

by Peter S. Goodman

Under Davos Man’s logic, the wealthy are magnanimous, so unions are an unnecessary intrusion on business, and taxes represent money seized by the government; money that could otherwise be showered on the fortunate people who would benefit from his philanthropic undertakings. This was an idea that went back to Carnegie and the rest of the Robber Barons, whose grandiose public works projects—libraries, museums, concert halls—were proffered as societal compensation for their lopsided share of the economic gains, and their violent suppression of labor uprisings. Davos Man had updated this logic by denigrating government. Public sector bureaucrats would predictably squander taxpayer dollars through inefficiency and lack of discipline, the billionaires argued. Whereas they could efficiently target their philanthropic pursuits at clearly defined missions. Having earned their money through the rough-and-tumble of the competitive marketplace, they were tightly organized and nimble, making them better able to engineer impact with their money. Through this framing, Davos Man deftly rendered his discretionary dollops of generosity as recompense for grand-scale tax evasion.