Tuesday September 20 2011 / Arts & Philosophy
Felix & Sofie: The hardworking Dutchman
When Mark Rutte started as Prime Minister he promised "to give the land back to the hardworking Dutchman". Felix & Sofie are going to look for him on Prinsjesdag 2011.
Who actually is that hardworking Dutchman? Who are his illustrious predecessors? What is all that hard work going to produce? These questions let us think about the relationship between classical philosophical liberalism and political liberalism in the Netherlands today.
With Dirk Verhofstadt and Patrick van Schie
Is liberalism Right or Left?
The hardworking Dutchman has been placed in the forefront as martyr of society by the current Dutch right-wing cabinet. The cabinet has the idea that these people should get some extra attention. On the other side, they want to deal with people who do not conform to the profile.
Where does this obsession with the hardworking Dutchman come from? Where can we find his roots, and how can we define his central role in the current government policy? Felix & Sofie are organising a discussion of the essence of liberalism with the hard-thinking Belgian publicist Dirk Verhofstadt, who is associated with the University of Ghent and is a core member of the left-wing think-tank Liberals. He is also the brother of the former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and regularly criticises right-wing liberalism. Interview: Stijn Sieckelinck
Hard Liberalism
After the break, a debate will take place between Dirk Verhofstadt and Patrick Van Schie, director of the Telderstichting, the liberal think-tank of the Netherlands and the scientific department of the government party VVD.
Would he know the definition of a hardworking Dutchman or would he have the list of characteristics that define this Dutchman? With the continuous budget cuts, it has become unclear how to characterise the group of hardworking Dutchmen. What about the people who do not fit the picture perfectly? Think of the hardworking Dutch artist, the non-Dutch show-off, or of everybody who is disabled or unemployed. This group is now put down as the greatest insult to the hardworking Dutchman. Is this correct? The political issue at stake is how the use of this normative archetype relates to the core values of liberalism - a question that relates to both hard work and Dutch nationality.
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