‘Dutch very involved with society’
When it comes to family values, tolerance and solidarity, the Netherlands has become more traditional and conservative the last ten years, a large-scale survey by Tilburg University researchers Loek Halman and Inge Sieben shows.
Dutch people in postmodern society are not indifferent but very involved in society and they seem to worry about the decline of values and decency. The results of Halman’s and Sieben’s study were presented in the publication ’ last Friday.
The Dutch are involved in their own neighborhoods, but show less interest in national and European issues. It becomes clear from their solidarity with the needy: Dutch still seem to be willing to offer support to ill and aged persons, but they feel less solidarity with the unemployed and they show the least solidarity with immigrants. The Dutch hospitality of the sixties has turned into a conditional form of solidarity: the person seeking help is only welcome if he is not a threat to our jobs and when he adopts our values.
The Dutch attitudes towards homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia became more tolerant. A small group, however, including many Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party PVV voters, less-educated people, elderly, protestants and muslims, remain fiercely against these rights, the book reads.
It is remarkable that the Dutch stick to traditional qualities, such as good manners and obedience, respect and thrift, which are seen as conforming to society. These developments suggest that the Dutch think that individualism in Dutch society has gone too far. It is also reflected in the growing engagement of young people: they are more likely to donate, do more volunteer work and are more politically active than before.
