Media coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos is so far focusing on inequality between the “haves” and “have-nots” as income and quality of life disparity loom large as 2012 political issues.

Mark Penn, worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller, told the Associated Press that the economic environment has “raised larger questions about how is capitalism working, and how do you redefine fairness in the 21st Century.”

David Rubenstein, cofounder and managing director of asset management firm the Carlyle Group, told ...