The WEF’s “Building back broader” asks its six Global Future Councils how to build back a more inclusive global economy. The to-do list will not surprise you: progressive fiscal policies, social protection and decent jobs, 21st century skills for all, more social justice, and public-private partnerships 2.0. The last chapter argues for more foresight in decision making (yes!) and identifies current “frontier risks” — ie risks that emerge at a frontier as technologies surface or human and societal forces shift (p.59). Three caught my attention because I have not read enough about them and should: the militarization of space, a permafrost methane release, and human-engineered pandemics. Last we heard from minority shareholder activism and sustainability it was not good news: Emmanuel Faber got kicked out of Danone. There is now a trend of such activists pushing for more sustainability in large companies.  Jessica Camille Aguirre tells the story of “the little hedge fund taking down big oil”, or how Engine No1, a small investment firm managed to place two climate experts in the board of Exxon Mobil. Traditionally, activist investors have worked to influence the management of companies with the view to increase the value of companies’ stocks – to make money. The same strategy and tactics are increasingly used to have more positive impact on the planet. Watch this space.    The Pew Research Center shows that 61% of the public in OECD countries think that their country is more divided now than before the pandemic. This number goes down in the Asia-Pacific with Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand feeling more united. To note that these optimistic countries are those with the lowest number of deaths and the best crisis management according to their populations.

Megan Rapinoe [34:55] thinks that “everybody should live in their full individuality. We live in a society that values individual over the greater good but we require that individual to fit in this tiny box of what we deem as a society acceptable.”