Giving Compass' Take:

• Rhodri Davies unpacks the debate around taxes and philanthropy sparked by the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

• How can philanthropists help to develop a system that does not rely so heavily on philanthropy? 

• Read more about the movement for more democracy and less philanthropy. 

A video of historian Rutger Bregman calling on the world’s elite to “stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes” during this year’s World Economic Forum annual conference in Davos has gone viral.

Bregman touched a real nerve by bringing to the main stage an argument that had already become a major backdrop of the event.

Bregman touched a real nerve by bringing to the main stage an argument that had already become a major backdrop of the event. More than ever before, commentators have criticised this year’s gathering of global CEOs, politicians and assorted great and good for being out of step with the times. The continued promotion of the idea that market principles and the private sector are the solution to all the world’s ills, critics argue, seems increasingly detached from a reality in which global inequality continues to widen and political instability has become the norm.

And the Davos elite are clearly feeling the pressure. The mood of this year’s event was less bullish and more fearful than previously. External criticism even punctured the conference bubble and shaped the narrative for the week: ideas such new US Senator Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s calls for a 70% wealth tax became mandatory talking points at many sessions (albeit often in a defensive or dismissive way).

Even in this context, however, Rutger Bregman’s boldness in addressing these issues so openly raised many eyebrows; and drew cheers from many who felt he had laid bare a truth that is not often spoken to the elites of Davos.

Read the full article about taxes and philanthropy by Rhodri Davies at Charities Aid Foundation.