The polder model is almost synonymous with the Netherlands. Yet poldering is not a Dutch invention, but a French one. That is the conclusion that NWO researcher Roeland Audenaerde draws in his dissertation on the French thinker Louis de Bonald.
Some aspects that we associate with the polder model – such as mutual respect and tolerance – have their roots in the ideas of humanist thinkers such as Erasmus. But the socio-economic significance of the polder model takes shape through the efforts of the French nobleman Louis de Bonald (1754-1840).
The Catholic Louis de Bonald lives in a time of great political upheaval and power shifts. He is in the middle of the French Revolution (1789-1794). He is also politically active. First as mayor of the town of Millau, later as president of the people's assembly of the French department of Aveyron.
Initially, he views the French Revolution positively. But when it turns out that the Catholic Church is considered subordinate to the revolutionary regime, he resists. He sees the revolution as a revolt of the individual against the will of God and nature.
According to De Bonald, new slogans such as 'freedom', 'equality' and 'democracy' can only cause war and struggle between political parties and between social classes. According to him, anarchy can only be prevented by a return to the old society of guilds and classes. He therefore argues for a system in which employers and employees consult each other in a 'harmonious' way in order to prevent conflicts. This system is also called 'corporatism' abroad.
Wind over to the Netherlands
In the nineteenth century, De Bonald's ideas were adopted in the Netherlands by the priest Schaepman and the Protestant leader Groen van Prinsterer. They set up political movements that are the predecessors of the current CDA, the Dutch Christian Employers' Association (VNO-NCW) and the trade union federations FNV and CNV. In this way, the ideas of a deeply conservative Frenchman also gain a foothold in our own swampy polder.
De Bonald's ideas have been implemented in Dutch politics over the years. Since the Wassenaar Agreement in 1982, they have led to the formation of the polder model. “The idea behind the 1982 polder model is that a middle path must be chosen between liberalism and socialism,” says Audenaerde. “Liberalism focuses on the individual, socialism focuses on the state. The middle ground means that you let social problems be solved by professional organizations. Employers and employees must sit down and come to a solution together.”
Today's polder model
Today, the polder model is under heavy fire. If we are to believe critics, nothing will happen in the Netherlands these days until we have consulted, discussed, added water to the wine, and finally come to a solution that no one is really happy with. Has the polder model seen better days? This discussion flares up in society. Yet this is precisely the polder model at its best. Talking and consulting about its abolition is perhaps just poldering in its purest form.