Is our obsession with "Fairness" destroying the welfare state?
The Dutch welfare state was once built on solidarity, dignity, and the idea that provisions exist for everyone. But somewhere along the way, something changed, and researcher Femke Roosma has spent her career figuring out exactly what.
Roosma, who holds the Joop den Uyl Chair at the University of Amsterdam and is currently an Instituut Gak Fellow at NIAS, argues that our growing fixation on who truly deserves help has made the system more complex, more punishing, and less trusted, especially by the people who need it most. The childcare benefits scandal didn’t just hurt its direct victims. Its shadow falls over anyone who has ever had to deal with a benefits office.
But Roosma’s message isn’t simply one of crisis. She sees a path forward, one that recovers values the welfare state once held dear. And she has a sharp answer for anyone who wonders whether the “hard-working Dutch person” should really be footing the bill for others.
Read the full interview to find out why she thinks giving up a little “fairness” might be the key to getting everything else back.
