[n° ou bulletin]
| Titre : |
08.15 - 2015-08-12 |
| Type de document : |
texte imprimé |
| Année de publication : |
2015 |
| Langues : |
Allemand (ger) Anglais (eng) |
| Catégories : |
Communication en design
Design
Graphisme
Livres d'artistes
Papier - Fabrication
Tourisme
Typographie - Design
|
| Index. décimale : |
766 Arts graphiques |
| Résumé : |
A tough call – but a necessary one, in a world where too often good ideas, launched to serve society, somehow degenerate into constructs that benefit the few at the expense of the many.
What started out innocently as »couch surfing« – not just a cheap form of accommodation for low-budget travellers, but also a real opportunity to experience local life, away from the standardised international hotels – turned into Airbnb. That in itself is not reprehensible – why shouldn’t someone who sets up a functioning platform also pursue his own commercial ends? So far, so good: a win-win situation for both sides. But, living space being famously in short supply in the top destinations, some locals have no qualms about offering even cellar rooms for maximum profit. So, what better than to go for this kind of practical rental arrangement: Why let out a 30 m2 apartment in Munich for only 800 euros a month, when you can get 50 euros per day from passing travellers? The inevitable result: even less affordable accommodation available to locals. That’s got as much to do with social cohesion as subsidising coal at the same time as switching over to clean energy. But this too is a natural reflex: Many complain about rising rents and how long it takes to find a flat, but when looking to save a few euros on the next city break, they book on Airbnb while at the same time calling indignantly for a cap on rent rises.
The hype surrounding sharing platforms on the web is also fascinating. At first sight it seems very sensible from an economic and ecological point of view: Nobody needs to buy all that stuff. When it comes to small items it all works very well – like when neighbours share a lawnmower they got together to buy. Now, as we know, humankind has never managed to get a truly »social« society to work – history tells us that much. It just doesn’t seem to be in our DNA. So, with these sharesites, too, there’s an unequal balance: The idealism of one group is sadly often torpedoed by the self-serving actions of a few. The feeling of freedom on the part of those who don’t want to »burden themselves« with material things, i.e. don’t have any possessions (or don’t want to pay for them), is supported by the goodwill of those who do invest in these things and then share them. A truly sharing system only works when everyone makes a contribution to it, and not, as some do, tries to live out their own personal philosophy of life on the backs of others, all the time accusing those others of wasting resources. Ergo: If you criticise your friends for owning a car in a city (how unnecessary!), then don’t ask those friends for a lift the next time they are going to Ikea …
A truly responsible lifestyle in today’s world should in my eyes go beyond just ecological and economic aspects:
It needs the added dimension of community spirit. It’s not enough to live out one’s own personal sustainability program, ignoring the consequences for other people: That way lies only egoism, even though this may not have been the original intention.
I hope you are having a wonderful summer,
Bettina Schulz |
| En ligne : |
http://www.novumnet.de/en/world-of-novum/current-issue/082015/first/editorial.ht [...] |
[n° ou bulletin]
08.15 - 2015-08-12 [texte imprimé] . - 2015. Langues : Allemand ( ger) Anglais ( eng)
| Catégories : |
Communication en design
Design
Graphisme
Livres d'artistes
Papier - Fabrication
Tourisme
Typographie - Design
|
| Index. décimale : |
766 Arts graphiques |
| Résumé : |
A tough call – but a necessary one, in a world where too often good ideas, launched to serve society, somehow degenerate into constructs that benefit the few at the expense of the many.
What started out innocently as »couch surfing« – not just a cheap form of accommodation for low-budget travellers, but also a real opportunity to experience local life, away from the standardised international hotels – turned into Airbnb. That in itself is not reprehensible – why shouldn’t someone who sets up a functioning platform also pursue his own commercial ends? So far, so good: a win-win situation for both sides. But, living space being famously in short supply in the top destinations, some locals have no qualms about offering even cellar rooms for maximum profit. So, what better than to go for this kind of practical rental arrangement: Why let out a 30 m2 apartment in Munich for only 800 euros a month, when you can get 50 euros per day from passing travellers? The inevitable result: even less affordable accommodation available to locals. That’s got as much to do with social cohesion as subsidising coal at the same time as switching over to clean energy. But this too is a natural reflex: Many complain about rising rents and how long it takes to find a flat, but when looking to save a few euros on the next city break, they book on Airbnb while at the same time calling indignantly for a cap on rent rises.
The hype surrounding sharing platforms on the web is also fascinating. At first sight it seems very sensible from an economic and ecological point of view: Nobody needs to buy all that stuff. When it comes to small items it all works very well – like when neighbours share a lawnmower they got together to buy. Now, as we know, humankind has never managed to get a truly »social« society to work – history tells us that much. It just doesn’t seem to be in our DNA. So, with these sharesites, too, there’s an unequal balance: The idealism of one group is sadly often torpedoed by the self-serving actions of a few. The feeling of freedom on the part of those who don’t want to »burden themselves« with material things, i.e. don’t have any possessions (or don’t want to pay for them), is supported by the goodwill of those who do invest in these things and then share them. A truly sharing system only works when everyone makes a contribution to it, and not, as some do, tries to live out their own personal philosophy of life on the backs of others, all the time accusing those others of wasting resources. Ergo: If you criticise your friends for owning a car in a city (how unnecessary!), then don’t ask those friends for a lift the next time they are going to Ikea …
A truly responsible lifestyle in today’s world should in my eyes go beyond just ecological and economic aspects:
It needs the added dimension of community spirit. It’s not enough to live out one’s own personal sustainability program, ignoring the consequences for other people: That way lies only egoism, even though this may not have been the original intention.
I hope you are having a wonderful summer,
Bettina Schulz |
| En ligne : |
http://www.novumnet.de/en/world-of-novum/current-issue/082015/first/editorial.ht [...] |
|
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