Hans Achterhuis

(1942) according to the Dutch weekly Vrij Nederland belongs to the ‘the twelve greatest thinkers of the Netherlands’. The emeritus philosophy professor has always combined scientific work with social debate. In his voluminous oeuvre Achterhuis highlights themes like economic scarcity, development aid, the environment and technology. He likes to call his work current affairs analysis as he links philosophy to an extensive research into dossiers, reports and newspaper articles. In 2003 Achterhuis won the Pierre Bayle prize for cultural criticism and in 2009 the Socrates Challenge Cup for Met alle geweld (With all possible violence) in which he looks into the role of violence in our society. One of his most celebrated works is De markt van welzijn en geluk (The market of welfare and happiness; 1979) in which he posits that welfare aid does not necessary lead to progress as it creates dependence. His last book, Utopie van de vrije markt (Utopia of the free market), appeared in 2010. With the credit crisis as immediate cause, Achterhuis shows that there is indeed an ideology behind free market thought.