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Media: Let's be positive about Portugal

(Guardian) In his 1987 book, The Alchemy of Finance, George Soros explained his theory and experience of what is known as reflexivity. He has defined it as: "a two-way feedback mechanism in which reality helps shape the participants." He outlined, among other things, how markets are influenced bythe different kinds of observers and participants in the financial system. Among them of course, the media.

Since the economic collapse of Greece, the major media of the world, along with a never-ending parade of financial analysts, have been speculating, warning and in effect setting the stage for the economic collapse of Portugal. Back in 2007, the Economist magazine even cleverly repurposed an old nickname with which to characterise the Portuguese economy: "A new sick man of Europe". More than three years since that diagnosis, commentators and opinion shapers have managed to pile on with grimmer variations on that theme. After all, dramatic headlines and dreary predictions serve many purposes: perhaps chief among them, to get your attention.

A far more interesting, although unlikely scenario, would be to see what happens if we the media would shift direction. What if we were to start reporting about aspects of the Portuguese economy that are bold, innovative, and that signal a sound future? What if we started looking at the indicators that show that even beyond economics, Portugal is a nation that is capable of tackling problems and leading the world? Not as exciting as the doom and gloom? In an effort to counter the self-fulfilling prophecy spiral we find ourselves in, I'll take that risk.

Portugal is a worldwide leader in alternative energy

In the same year of extensive reporting about Portugal's economic problems, the nation has also become a world leader in alternative energy. It was announced in 2010 that 45% of Portugal's electricity is now from renewable resources, this represents a 28% increase over the past five years. Despite facing plummeting popularity numbers and the risks of a big financial investment, the current government pushed ahead with plans for expanding wind and hydro projects, in the process they've helped make Portugal not only a leader for their domestic record, they've also helped make Portuguese green energy experts and companies world leaders in their field. In the US, for example, the Portuguese owned Horizon Wind Energy is a leading producer of wind power.

Portugal's electric mobility policy is groundbreaking

The first of its kind in the world, the policy is a co-operation between the government, energy producers, and the Renault and Nissan car companies. Together they are building a nationwide electric car infrastructure that includes 13,000 wind-powered charging stations, a swipe card access system and capacity for 750,000 vehicles by 2020. Again is it is a project aggressively pursued by a public-private investment, generating a great deal of criticism and scepticism – just as their energy plans did 5 years ago.

Portugal's import/export is very healthy

Looking at the benefits as well as risks for a nation that makes sustainable financial and environmental investments simply doesn't appeal to readers the way the current media conversation does. It is perhaps too naive to just run down the long list of global corporations that have branches operating in Portugal, or the growing list of Portuguese businesses who have expanded not only in Europe, but in parts of Africa, Asia and throughout the western hemisphere. None of this is deemed worth reporting, so it never finds itself in the fine print under the latest obituary for our new sick man.

Portugal is a leader in social policy

Considering that Portugal is a country that leads the world in its drug treatment policies, while so many so-called successful nations spend countless billions on what is still referred to as a "war on drugs," it is hard to tell who really is the "sick man of Europe" in this global media conversation.

Perhaps what is truly sick and in need of remedy is not so much the long troubled finances of a nation that overthrew a dictator and put a stop to multiple colonial wars 35 years ago, but our role as reporters and readers of economic news.

Naturally, I realise the picture is much larger than the aspects highlighted in this text, just as the story is much more detailed than just calling it another soon-to-fail EU economy. But just as George Soros pointed out back in the 1980s, we still don't understand that within the process of reporting and observing what we call a pending financial collapse, we play a part in making that collapse a reality.