What do Dutch people think about social security? Sociologist Thijs Lindner analysed this in his dissertation. He showed that people are in favour of a better redistribution of wealth, but there’s little support for a basic income. Lindner also studied how people respond when you tell them that there is a relatively high number of people with a migration background on welfare. In addition, he delved into the phenomenon of "welfare chauvinism".
Everyone learns about the importance of the welfare state and how it came about. But what do Dutch people themselves think about our social security system? 'We actually know very little about it', says sociologist Thijs Lindner (Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences). However, he says it’s important to understand it: 'It can seem complicated to many people, but it’s something that affects almost everyone at some point in their lives. Whether you need a benefit, become unemployed or have to get disability insurance. For that reason, everyone has an opinion about it.'
The doctoral candidate used focus groups to uncover different meanings given to social security. In the focus groups, he brought together people with similar backgrounds, for example people who are on welfare, have a migration background, or have a high socioeconomic status. They jotted down the first words they associated with social security; phrases that came up included "safety net", "basic income" and "time to take a step back". He then engaged in discussion with the focus groups. From these discussions, three dominant ideas emerged: "personal responsibility and reciprocity", "wellbeing and personal development" and "participation and solidarity".
'We are looked after from the cradle to the grave. Which is nice, but there’s such a thing as personal responsibility'
Toon (66)
Graphic designer
Last resort or demotivating?
With "participation and solidarity", participants were not so much referring to the role of government as emphasising the importance of looking out for each other. In the case of "personal responsibility and reciprocity", social security was mainly seen as a last resort. Interestingly, this was also something he heard in deprived neighbourhoods. Residents there stressed that "you have to work hard and not expect to just sit back and relax". 'My research shows that people’s views on this issue are often quite nuanced, and you can’t simply cram them into certain groups or political movements. I’m also not at all interested in pigeonholing people.'
He also discovered that some see social security as a way of enabling personal development. In his dissertation, Lindner called this "wellbeing and personal development". A basic income was often raised in this context; this, too, does not appear to be a topic of the left or right. In another survey, he researched people’s thoughts on this issue. 'People often appear to be in favour of a better redistribution of wealth, but there’s little support for a basic income. This surprised me, because there’s a lot of support for it among experts, and because there are many groups that aren’t making ends meet at the moment. What stands out is that this issue is highly polarised: people are either very strongly for it or very much against it.'
'If you give people the opportunity to choose something they really like, I’m convinced that great things will come from that'
Wim (41)
Business owner
"Welfare chauvinism"
Another phenomenon Lindner examined is "welfare chauvinism". Simply put, this comes down to whether people think immigrants are equally entitled to benefits. In this regard, the sociologist was interested in the different meanings people give to the concepts involved. The research shows that dividing lines such as left versus right or conservative versus progressive are inadequate. 'There’s a group that feels distrust towards people from different ethnic backgrounds and may be more inclined to vote for the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV). But there are other motives too. For example, there’s a group whose reasons are purely economic, such as "we have to cut benefits or the welfare state will collapse".'
Migration background and welfare
One sensitive issue the doctoral candidate addresses in his dissertation is the overrepresentation of people with a migration background on welfare. Lindner studied how people react when you confront them with these statistics. 'This information has already been shown to promote stereotyping about these minorities, but my research shows that people also start thinking more negatively about welfare recipients in general. And you can see that this is mostly about people being more distrustful of groups from other ethnic backgrounds.'
Use data with care
The sociologist believes it’s important to handle this kind of data with care. Lindner isn’t saying you shouldn’t share data on welfare and background; he’s simply arguing that the underlying explanations should be included. Lindner says, 'Think about growing up in a deprived neighbourhood, or being discriminated against in the job market because of your surname. Also, look at the effect of level of education in relation to welfare. I think having a lower level of education is much more significant in this context than having a migration background.'
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