From citizen to consumer to citizen-consumer: the development of the welfare state and consumer society

Anton Schuurman

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From citizen to consumer to citizen-consumer: the development of the welfare state and consumer society

in Changing families and their lifestyles

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Anton Schuurman

Anton Schuurman
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Art:: Kapitel

Seiten:: 213–228

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086866243_014

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At the beginning of the 21^st century we again face the questions: How is society to be organized? What role should the state play? What is the role of the market? A century ago these questions were firmly answered. At the beginning of the twentieth century it became clear that the state would play a large role in every aspect of social life. In the Netherlands the government proudly published three major laws: one on housing, one on health, and one on compulsory education. During the twentieth century first the welfare state was built up and later, in the last quarter of the century, it was challenged. It was challenged by such different developments as the process of globalization and the process of individualization. The welfare state had to be reformed. With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the answer seemed to be more market. This answer had already been prepared since the 1970s by liberal and conservative ideologues and by the actual development of consumer society in the twentieth century. Increasingly, people were addressed as consumers and less as citizens. When the Euro was introduced in the Netherlands and the Chancellor of the Exchequer was warned of rising prices, he was convinced that the market would take care of this problem and that the government had no role to play. If businesses raised prices, people would start buying from the competitor, so was his reasoning, and in this way the blind forces of the market would regulate the prices. The same holds for social responsibility with regard to child labour. If consumers abstained from buying products that were made using cheap child labour, it was expected to disappear automatically. As we now know this belief in the market was too naïve. Since then we have been looking at many levels for new answers in mixtures of the role of the state and the market, for new public/private arrangements, for new roles for citizens and consumers. In this article I want to contribute to this search for new answers by providing a historical background to the discussion. What were the reasons for the development of the welfare state? Why did it have to be reformed? How did consumer society develop? Where did it reach its limits? What can we learn from experiences with the consumer society in the twentieth century?

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Changing families and their lifestyles

Reihe: Mansholt Publication series, Band: 5

ISBN:: 9789086866243

Verleger:: Wageningen Academic

Print-Publikationsdatum:: 24 Oct 2007

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- Biowissenschaften
  - Allgemein
  - Agrarindustrie und Rural Studies

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From citizen to consumer to citizen-consumer: the development of the welfare state and consumer society

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Changing families and their lifestyles

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