Alec Hogg: The global trend that put Cape Independence front, centre

The World Economic Forum has been getting a bad rap nowadays. Especially from those angry at the blunderbuss "vaccinate everyone and make them carry passports" approach by bureaucrats charged with returning the world to post-Covid-19 normality..Given the open nature of social media, it's hardly surprising conspiracy theorists abound. Among their most popular theme is joining non-existent dots from vaccine manufacturers to WEF founder Klaus Schwab and one of his event's regular participants, Bill Gates..Having attended 16 of the WEF's annual Davos events, my perspective is, although it claims to be much more, it's simply a super-networking gathering. The forum's major achievement is to (briefly) get the world's most powerful men and women to listen more than they talk..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.It's definitely not the fabled illuminati-type event where elites join together to decide how they will prey on the great unwashed..In truth, the suddenly reviled Schwab's true assets are longevity – he's 83 and the WEF is 50 – and his connect-ability. Having founded it in 1971, Schwab remains the glue holding his organisation together. There's no guarantee the WEF will overcome a Covid-imposed two year hiatus, much less outlive the man himself. He's definitely no puppet master pulling the world's strings..In reality, for most Davos veterans, feelings towards the WEF is like the successfully married person's view of their matchmaker. Appreciative, sure, but that's where it ends..On the upside, however, the WEF exposes participants to more ideas and remarkable people than we could normally dream of. That stimulates better understanding and fresh journeys of personal growth and exploration..Among those I was blessed to be exposed to is the extraordinary Venezuelan exile Moises Naim, a Davos regular whose CV includes having been a cabinet minister, edited a major global publication and run a top international NGO. Those experiences have been put to good use..Naim's now seven year old book, The End Of Power, remains the most potent explainer of why people worldwide are downsizing – whether in business, politics or everyday life. In short, technology has both enabled and forced the creation of smaller units. Because doing so enhances efficiency and despite resistance from the status quo, greater efficiency always wins in the end..This morning I read the peerless RW Johnson's take on how this often subconscious move towards downsizing is also reshaping perspectives here on the southern tip of Arica..The former Oxford Don explains how July's 72 hours of anarchy turned Cape Independence into a major issue in the forthcoming local elections. It's a ripping read – Our "July Days" and their reckoning – and a reminder that SA's unification was only forced on its diverse people by the military intervention of a global superpower..Johnson has promised a follow-up by imagining what our part of the world would have looked like had there not been a 1910 unification of the Cape and Natal colonies and formerly independent ZAR and Free State republics. I can hardly wait..More for you today (click on linked headline to access) –.* RIP Allan Greenblo – a journalistic giant who never lost his moral compass. My tribute to a former boss, mentor and friend who died yesterday, aged 76, after sudden illness..* Xi Jinping's two track foreign policy. His stunning speech at the CCP's centenary explains intensified aggression towards Taiwan as record 149 jets "buzz" island state over weekend..* Oil price jumps above $80 and natural gas races higher, turbocharged by supply shortages. Crude prices are outpacing copper and other commodities by the widest margin in more than a decade..* On Thursday at noon, I'll be hosting an interactive webinar about the SA tobacco sector which has been given global exposure through the Smoke Screen series of podcasts and a full programme on BBC's Panorama. Guests are Bureau of Investigative Journalism international editor James Ball; author and tax and customs lawyer Telita Snyckers; and former top SARS executive Johann van Loggerenberg. Register here..NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. 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Alec Hogg: The global trend that put Cape Independence front, centre

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