The (Un)freedom of Dutch Housing
In the Netherlands, there is a housing crisis. This fact has been so unanimously agreed upon that it even became one of the main spearpoints in the 2023 Dutch elections under the moniker of ‘bestaanszekerheid’, or security of living (NOS 2023). The main problems that make up this crisis are the scarcity of available housing and the price of housing that is available. Citizens looking into purchasing a house are often outbid, and those applying for social housing are placed on waiting lists that may take up to 17 years in some municipalities (Buijtendijk & Buijs 2023). One of the main driving forces in this housing crisis is the privatisation of the housing market during the 90s (Kras 2022). This privatisation was aimed at providing more citizens with cheaper housing due to competition on the open market. Privatisation also meant there would be less social housing and more opportunities for house ownership. Why is it that the liberalisation of the housing market, which would give citizens more opportunities and freedom regarding housing, has made many citizens unfree due to their inability to find a stable place to live?
A central turning point often mentioned regarding housing in the Netherlands is the 1990s (Kras 2022). Before this period, it was often the case that municipalities owned large pieces of land and willingly distributed these to housing associations eager to start building affordable, accessible housing. This meant municipalities had control over the amount, size, and specifications of new housing. An inevitable shift occurred during the 1990s when the citizen became important as an individual and consumer. Citizens had specific, personal wishes and desires, which also affected their perspective on the role of housing in society. Creating considerable diversity in housing types and fulfilling more specific wishes regarding lifestyle became central. Adding to this, providing citizens with the ability to own a house privately became a central political goal (Haas, Heerink, and DWARS Commissie economie, n.d., 12). To fulfil these goals, municipalities sold their shares in land and housing projects, thus privatising the housing market.
This tendency in economic politics is also considered to be a shift from socialist politics towards a more liberal mindset. Liberalism, as an ideology, focuses on personal freedom and the freedom to conceive of your own personal idea of ‘the good life’. This is also often referred to as the idea of negative freedom. With negative freedom, citizens are free to decide for themselves and free from interference from others (or the state). Negative conceptions of freedom also stimulated the liberalisation of the housing market. Citizens would be able to choose a living space that best suits their taste. Thus, by focusing on providing more options (type and size of a house, private or social housing, etc.), a citizen’s personal freedom is increased. While on paper, citizens are free to choose what kind of housing they desire, in practice, they do not have the ability to actually express this freedom. Due to privatisation, housing prices have increased, and the availability of housing has decreased, which has, in practice, made citizens less free. In this sense, citizens are forced to apply to any social housing projects that remain or apply for a mortgage that limits their financial mobility significantly. While liberalism proposes an ideology of personal choice and freedom, the practical consequence is that citizens have become less free.
A potential opening to escape this deadlock in housing is finding a different conception of freedom, namely, positive freedom. Positive freedom is generally conceptualised as the idea that citizens have the freedom to actualise the possibilities given to them (Warburton, n.d.). Positive freedom focuses on the ability to make a specific choice. This is opposed to a liberal conception of freedom, which focuses on the opportunity to make choices, not your actual capacity to make choices. Hegel suggested that free will is actualised through the choices that individuals and collectives make; therefore, being able to actualise choice is more an expression of freedom than the opportunity to make choices. A housing market focused on positive liberty is thus focused on realising citizens’ ability to receive housing, instead of providing irrelevant possible choices. This would, for example, lessen possible options in housing but make the options that are there more accessible.
To provide some perspective, this idea has already been realised in Austrian social housing (VPRO 2023). In Austria, over 80% of citizens are eligible for social housing and pay comparatively little for their housing. In the Dutch context, social housing is seen as something for ‘the poor’ and is generally seen as undesirable. This is completely reversed in the Austrian context. Citizens see social housing as something positive and that it does not entail living in poor or inadequate housing. Positive freedom, when translated into providing as many citizens as possible with adequate housing, causes innovative and livable housing options to arise (VPRO 2023).
Additionally, other opportunities open up by providing more citizens with suitable housing. Since citizens can now access housing more easily, they may also have better job opportunities and access to social and community participation. Thus, by providing accessible housing, citizens have more choices that are open to them, and become, in turn, freer. Citizens in this situation are less restricted and gain opportunities instead of losing them.
While the housing crisis in the Netherlands may seem like a purely practical or technical problem, it is, in actuality, fueled by a specific, negative conception of freedom. Therefore, the housing crisis problem can only be resolved by adopting a new conception of freedom. This can be found in positive freedom, which focuses on capabilities instead of opportunities. Additionally, housing based on positive freedom has already been realised in Austria, which could serve as an example for the Netherlands to tackle its housing crisis.
Bibliography
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Warburton, Nigel. n.d. “Two Concepts of Freedom.” OpenLearn. Accessed August 20, 2024. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/philosophy/two-concepts-freedom/content-section-3.3.