A new report published this week* by the Transnational Institute entitled State of Power – Exposing the Davos Class, makes clear that the widening gulf between rich and poor is closely tied to an economic system that has given corporations unprecedented influence over policy making, and enshrined rights for corporations that supersede human rights.

Today, 37 of the world’s largest economies are corporations. Walmart, Shell, Volkswagen and others have become modern-day empires, bigger economically than Denmark, Israel or Singapore. And when you examine who owns these corporations, the power gets even more concentrated – with 1% of businesses, just 147 companies, controlling the shares of more than 40% of the world’s transnational corporations.

The attempts at Davos to further concentrate political power takes us completely in the wrong direction for tackling today’s social and ecological crises. As Susan George notes, “Democracy has in no way kept up with the pace of globalization; whether nationally or internationally, authority is exercised without the consent of the governed.”

Davos portrays itself as the forward-thinking, enlightened, socially responsive side of business – but is, at its core, part of of the problem and not the solution. While its members have been forced to address inequality thanks to the power of popular movements emerging worldwide, the ongoing actions of those members are entrenching inequality. Last year, the wealth of the world’s millionaires grew by 11 percent while it stagnated, and fell, for the rest of us.