A tale of two cities: Davos and Porto Alegre square off on the global economy. (Gazette).(World Economic Forum, Switzerland; World Social Forum, Brazil)

TWO POLITICAL MOVEMENTS representing distinct visions of the global economy will hold their annual conventions the last week of January. The World Economic Forum--an organization of some 1,000 multinational corporations--will meet in Davos, a picture book ski resort in the Swiss Alps. The forum was organized 30 years ago to provide a discreet hideaway where businessmen-without-borders could socialize and strategize with one another and selected heads of state.

Over the years, Davos has become less an exclusive retreat to do business and more a quasi-public conference on how to make ...

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