写在达沃斯论坛之后：世界需要乐天派

    上周，笔者撰文提出，在世界经济论坛（the World Economic Forum）年会的讨论中，应该包容发散性思维，以及有别于多数派的不同声音。当我静下来，思考过去五天在达沃斯的经历时，我觉得我们需要进一步扩大我们的队伍——将一些“希望的积极倡导者们”也请到我们中间来。

    丘吉尔曾经说过：“我宁愿做一个乐观主义者。因为做别的人也没什么用。”笔者认为，如果世界经济论坛仍希望解决世界所面临的问题，而不只是提出问题，那就应该把这句至理名言作为论坛的口号。

    我记得年轻时，曾与一位乐观了一辈子的世交进行过一次对话。他告诉我，半空的杯子，应该总被视为半满，甚至在某些情况下，三分之一满的杯子也应该被视为半满。他说：“即使杯子里只有一滴水，我也视它为半满。”我嘲讽他积极的态度，问道：“如果没有杯子呢？”他这样回答我，“总会有杯子的。”他的话让我哑口无言，若有所悟。

    本周末，我开始回顾我在世界经济论坛上的记录，并通过互联网研究世界的情绪和观点。这时，我想起了朋友的话。我不得不承认，看到唱哀调的推文数量时，我大吃一惊。如果有“举手表决”调查，悲观论者的数量可能会超过达沃斯论坛上持乐观观点者的数量。但是，无论如何，这种压倒一切的悲观主义似乎没有任何意义。

    在达沃斯论坛上，我每到一处都会看到行动和承诺的影子。我首次见证了与会者在对待最强硬和最具讽刺意味的观点时，所表现出来的胆量。一次次的会议都在讨论重新界定资本主义以及包容性的需求，而比尔•盖茨却承诺出资7.5亿美元抗击艾滋病。德国总理安吉拉•默克尔仍在努力激励和恢复各界对欧元区这个半成品的信心，而经济学家、从业者、学术界和商界领袖则齐聚一堂，跨越行业界限，提出切实可行的解决方法。

    此外，在创造就业方面，与会者也表现出同样的决心。例如，在跨行业CEO专题会议上，大多数公司都计划扩大招聘规模，同时打造新的人才库。与会者表现出勇于承担责任的态度，共同面对困难，并展现出解决问题的共同决心。

    另外，我还注意到，在达沃斯论坛上，另外一种不同的变革正在酝酿之中。因为缺乏更好的表述，我们暂且称它为“信任的复苏”。商界与政界领导人强调，在金融危机之后必须重建公众的信任。波兰总统布罗尼斯瓦夫•科莫罗夫斯基着重强调：“这场危机不仅是一场经济危机，更是一场信任危机。我们要做的，就是恢复信任。”这些言论都是令人鼓舞的迹象，它们都表明，全球越来越多的领导人勇于担当，解决我们目前面临的问题。因此，以“道德困境”和“英明领导力”等为主题的分会与会者络绎不绝也就不足为奇了。

    Last week, I wrote about the need to include divergent and contrarian views in the conversations taking place at the World Economic Forum annual meeting. As I sit back and reflect on my five days at Davos, I feel that we need to extend the circle further -- to include some "protagonists of hope."

    Churchill once famously said, "I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else." I believe that these wise words may need to become the rallying call of the WEF, too, if it is to continue contributing answers to the challenges facing the world and not just raising questions.

    I remember a conversation I had as a young man with an eternally optimistic family friend who told me that half-empty cups should always be seen as half full and oftentimes even one-third full. "Even if there is only a single drop of liquid in the cup, I consider it to be half full", he said. "But what if there is no cup?" I asked, mocking his positive outlook. "There is always a cup," he replied, leaving me speechless and much the wiser that day.

    I was reminded of his words as I sat back this weekend to pour over my WEF notes and study the mood and opinions of the world on the web. I must confess I was taken aback, for example, by the number of tweets that talked of gloom and doom. If there were to be a "show of hands" poll, the prophets of doom would have outnumbered the hopeful ones in Davos, too. But, somehow, the overbearing cynicism didn't seem to add up.

    Everywhere I looked while at Davos, there were indicators of action and commitment. For the first time at the conference, I noticed a boldness in how people approached even the toughest and most sacred notions. As session after session attempted to redefine capitalism and the need to be inclusive, Bill Gates pledged $750 million to fight AIDS. And as German Chancellor Angela Merkel worked to shore up and restore confidence on the work-in-progress that is the Eurozone, economists, practitioners, academics, and business leaders huddled across lines to offer pragmatic solutions.

    I saw a similar resolve on the challenge of job creation. For example, in a cross-industry CEO meeting on the topic, it was clear to me that most companies both planned to hire more people and build new sources of talent. There was a sense of urgent commitment in the room, a collective ownership of the problem and a collective resolve to solve it.

    I also noticed a very different kind of revolution take shape in Davos. For want of a better phrase, let's call it a resurgence of trust. Business and political leaders from all walks of life emphasized the need for rebuilding public trust following the financial crisis. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski underlined it emphatically: "The crisis is not only an economic crisis, but also a crisis of trust. What we shall do is to restore trust." Expressions like these were signs of an encouraging and growing acceptance of responsibility among global leaders for tackling the problems we face. It was not surprising to see sessions on themes like "ethical dilemmas" and "wise leadership" overflowing with attendees.