Theme A sense of purpose

Many people search for meaning and positive experience. People want to provide a valued contribution to (local) society and to the environment, together with the community.

There appears to be a trend in all levels of society, where boosting the feeling of well-being tends to be more important than increasing purchasing power. Instead of purchasing power Barbara Baarsma, Economist, would rather talk about the ‘power of opportunity’, or “the level where you feel you have control of your own life, in control of your future.”

In many areas of our society there is a growing realization that prosperity does not necessarily result in greater well-being. Despite our standard of living, people in the Netherlands still live in poverty. Also see summary on broad welfare on cbs.nl (see reference 8). People with low-literacy skills have difficulty coping in life; they are lonely and feel excluded from our society. But everyone has a talent to contribute something towards society and sometimes people just need extra support to be able to put that talent to work.

We can achieve a great deal as Marli Huijer states in the Groene Amsterdammer, by “viewing solidarity as a practice that demands continuous investment - and thus not as a moral or political principle”.