All LOHAS or what?

 
Column A well-behaved treatment of symptoms à la "Your contribution to combating climate change" is no longer enough to turn the tide. A plea for good-humored criticism of capitalism.LOHAS journalism (LOHAS = lifestyle of health and sustainability) is becoming increasingly colorful. That is good. But it would be better if, in addition to eco-trend stories and politically correct consumer tips, overdue fundamental questions were also asked. A plea for good-humored criticism of capitalism and its organs: it doesn't get any greener than this. After the "Green Issues" of established mainstream magazines, a new niche title in this country is now telling us what needs to be done so that Mother Earth can recover or at least not perish completely. And we with her. We, that's you, me and - if you believe the market research - the almost 30 percent of the Swiss population with eco-social self-confidence. Conversely, two thirds are as interested in rising temperatures and declining biodiversity as they are in the proverbial sack of rice in China. And rightly so, because we can set ourselves apart from this ignorant mob relatively painlessly and celebrate ourselves as representatives of the "lifestyle of health and sustainability" from which, according to the crystal ball of the Frankfurt Future Institute, "the power consumers of tomorrow" will emerge.
Which brings us swiftly back to the new, self-proclaimed Swiss Lohas central organ called Todo, which can/should mean both "to do" and "everything" (todo). This universal guide to doing things differently is self-published by dedicated media professionals. The look is trendy, the topics are not unoriginal ("Ethanol to burn yourself") and the diction is strikingly neutral. Todo aims to provide orientation knowledge "so that we can continue to enjoy our lives, despite all the doomsday scenarios".
This credo is refreshingly honest, certainly capable of winning a majority among the aforementioned 30 percent and therefore probably lucrative in the medium term. Advertisers such as Manufactum, Swisscom and Bank Sarasin are already making their presence felt in the pilot edition, which you would still look for in vain in a WOZ, for example.
At the same time, however, such and similar do-it-yourself world improvement journalism is boundless, no, downright dangerously naive. Doing things yourself or doing things differently is a good thing. However, it is no longer possible to turn the tide by treating symptoms like "your contribution to combating climate change". After all, our problems are not gradual, but fundamental. More and more people want more and more prosperity faster and faster. This truth, which is even more uncomfortable than Al Gore's, is both simple and difficult. Without an alternative to the all-pervasive logic of growth and its accompanying phenomenon of consumerism, there can be no sustainability worthy of the name. And without journalism that dares to present a radical alternative, there can be no truly critical public.
Oops, as soon as it gets a bit basic, the pointing finger and curmudgeon trap snaps shut. It mercilessly exposes the humorless ideologue and envious grumbler who would be a grateful victim of an ecodictatorship. In fact, sympathetic and yet substantial criticism of the system is the squaring of the journalistic circle, both linguistically and financially. Linguistically ... okay, we just had that. Financially, the dilemma is ideally illustrated by the aforementioned weekly newspaper (WOZ). Its blows to the soft parts of the almighty market are occasionally well targeted and good-humored, but even the more sensual presentation hardly brought in any new advertising customers. Only the founding of the "Ecopool" (with Work and others) was able to dispel fears of contact among some former class enemies. After all, there could be a LOHAS target audience behind it. Seldom has label fraud been so effective and honorable. Because there is still a lot, in fact everything, to be done.
Oliver Classen is press spokesman for the development policy organization Berne Declaration (EvB).