At the last World Government Summit in Dubai, there was an interesting exchange of ideas between Elon Musk and Klaus Schwab.
"He (Musk) expressed concern about too much cooperation between governments, stating that it could lead to a civilizational risk. He clarified that he was not advocating for war, but that too much unity could cause the whole system to collapse: ‘If we are too much of a single civilization, then the whole thing may collapse.’ "
Source: Moderndiplomacy.eu
Schwab on the other hand is well-known for advocating global cooperation, and closer ties between governments. This got X (Twitter) in an uproar.
I tend to agree more with Schwab that cooperation between governments is a good thing, and there is also a near zero chance that countries will somehow get too close to one another.
Also, Musk claims that governments getting too close to one another could “make the whole thing collapse”. Why would the world collapse if governments cooperated closely? I don’t get it. Would welcome thoughts from the Network.
Main points made by YGL’s included:
• “Re-globalization is a necessary mindset shift in our interconnected world”
• “We must prioritize the re-globalization agenda to strengthen global community”
• “Leaders should spend more time reconciling our differences”
• “(Globaliztion is) an opportunity to craft a more resilient, inclusive and equitable industrial space”
I agree with @KLook that Musk’s position against governmental cooperation is difficult to understand. I wondered if the community might weigh in on Musk’s position, and the logic behind it.
@KLook Regarding “Why would the world collapse if governments cooperated closely?”
Musk’s concern about too much cooperation (interdependence) between governments can be equated to the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs into one basket”. In other words, if there is a failure, the entire system comes down as opposed to just an isolated part of the system.
We have seen this with the globalization of finance. The collapse of a small part of the US banking system (sub-prime mortgages) nearly brought down the entire world economy. This was due to the high level of interconnectivity that globalization brought us.
Musk sounds cynical when he says that governments should not cooperate so much. But that is just his style. He really means that governments should maintain their sovereignty in banking, defense, and trade in order to build firewalls against chain-reaction crises.
Interesting themes of centralization vs decentralization. To me, it’s ultimately a question of balancing and harnessing the two forces, as both can be useful but too much of either can be a bad situation for the world.
