Liberty of Conscience crushing Tyranny. One of the windows in the church of St John, Gouda.
This website contains the translated text of a Dutch book, Hollands glorie, published for the first time fourteen years ago. It offered a history of the Dutch consensus culture, from its very beginnings to the latest developments, covering more or less the millennium that was, in 1999, coming to an end. Reprinted several times, it was completely revised and republished in 2005, this time called Polderdenken.
The English translation offered here was adapted to a foreign audience and to several recent developments in Dutch politics, which are explained in the introduction. The translation was made by Marie Smit-Ryan and William P. Thayer, to whom I like to express my gratitude. In the present web version, most illustrations are from Amsterdam – I’m an Amsterdammer after all, and proud to be one – but I hope to add photos from other towns as well.
>> Introduction >>
Consensus and Crises 