A low point in human history, Davos edition

At this year’s World Economic Forum, there have been numerous soul-searching sessions about how to achieve a worthy life and true happiness. There was a dinner dedicated to “mindfulness,” another to “the importance of being happy,” and a daily meditation run by a Buddhist monk.

For those wanting to experience real hardship (for an hour or so) there were multiple sessions each day that attempted to simulate what it is like to be a refugee in a camp. During these sessions actors dressed up as soldiers stormed in, pretending to beat up another actor dressed up as a refugee and firing fake gunshots. Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Peter Brabeck-Letmathe of Nestle were among the executives who participated.

“It used to be just bankers that were bashed,” the chief executive of a large European consumer goods company said with a sigh after coming out of his morning trance. He spoke on condition of anonymity, perhaps not wanting to seem as if he was complaining. “Now it’s all of us.”