Even in the heyday of the liberal democratic order, the conceit of the World Economic Forum induced skepticism: Once a year, the wealthiest, most powerful people on earth gather in a village in the Swiss Alps to devise solutions to the most critical problems in modern life.

The slogan of the forum, "Committed to Improving the State of the World," has long encapsulated the reason for doubt. People with the greatest stake in the status quo — billionaire executives who run the largest banks and technology companies — are cast as change agents, uniting with world leaders to pursue the betterment of humanity.

But this year, with the world seized by geopolitical turmoil, and the United States ruled by a president who is hostile to the concept of multilateral cooperation, Davos seems especially challenged by internal contradictions.

The event's most prominent attendee, President Trump, leads the country that was the architect of the post-World War II order, one centered on collective security and liberalized trade. He has applied his authority to pursue a global trade war while threatening to seize Greenland from Denmark, a fellow member of NATO. Over the weekend, he said he would impose new tariffs on a bloc of European nations if they continued to oppose his efforts to take control of the Danish territory.