Arnold Heertje | |
|---|---|
 Arnold Heertje (2009) | |
| Born | (1934-02-19)19 February 1934 |
| Died | 4 April 2020(2020-04-04) (aged 86) Naarden, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Amsterdam |
Arnold Heertje (19 February 1934 – 4 April 2020) was a Dutcheconomist and professor at theUniversity of Amsterdam, writer and columnist. He became more generally known for his opposition to theBetuweroute.
Heertje was born on 19 February 1934 inBreda, the son of Maurits Heertje and Estella Philips.[1][2] Heertje grew up primarily inArnhem. Due to theirJewish background, during the Second World War the whole family had to go in hiding after 12 November 1942. The eight-year-old Arnold ended up with aReformed family in theHaarlemmermeer. Impressed by their faith, he planned to become aminister. Together with his parents he survived the war. After the war he wanted to join the Reformed church, but his mother forbade him. According to his mother, he would not be allowed to choose a church until he was eighteen. Heertje was not only impressed by the faith of people that had hidden him, but also by their poverty. He later remarked, that he "was impressed by the fact that all of the hiding places that existed were with families that were extremely poor. This made [him] raise the question of where that poverty actually came from. [He] wanted to know more about it and went to study economics..."[3]
From 1951 to 1956 Heertje studiedeconomics at theUniversity of Amsterdam (UvA), and received his MA cum laude. At the same university he received his doctorate in 1960 for his thesis entitled "Theprice theory of theoligopoly". In 1958 he started teaching at the all Jewish Maimonides Lyceum in Amsterdam, and continued to do so until 1968. In the years 1963 and 1964 he taught at the Baarnsch Lyceum inBaarn.
In 1962 Heertje became known through his bookDe kern van de economie. It has sold over a few hundred thousand copies, and new editions are still printed.
From 1964 to 1999 he was Professor of Political Economy at the Law Faculty of theUniversity of Amsterdam, and from 1997 to 2006 he was Professor in the History of Economic Science. He retired from the University of Amsterdam 3 May 2006, where he had taught for over forty years. In 1999 he was teaching at theVossius Gymnasium in Amsterdam. Heertje became a member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1997.[4]
Arnold Heertje was married, has three sons, Eric (1960),Raoul (1963) and Patrick (1965–1991), and three grandchildren. Like his son, the comedian Raoul Heertje, he wrote columns for the newspaperHet Parool. Some of these columns are collected in his bookDe vierkante waarheid (The square truth).
Heertje died on 4 April 2020 inNaarden, aged 86.[1][5]
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Heertje belonged to the group of economists, who defend the thesis that the field of the Economics is much more than just what can be expressed in money or what can be measured. The (almost) constant focus onconsumerism andfinancial growth will make the emphasis on other human needs increasingly difficult. Eventually these other human needs will disappear for more and more people in their immediate environment.
Just as much of the field of Economics, according to Heertje, are those items difficult or impossible to express in monetary values such as nature, quality of life and sense of well-being. These kinds of values should be taken into consideration, when economic choices are made. Therefore, Heertje advocated custom sobriety.
Partly for this reason, Heertje was emphatically against the extension of theA15 van Bemmel facing Zevenaar. He argued, that the financing of each variant of that project is based on financial quicksand.
With the exception of a momentary switch toDemocratic Socialists '70 (DS'70) in the 1970s, Heertje has always been a member of the DutchLabour Party. He was considered a critical member, known for his blunt opinions concerning the board of the Labour Party.
Heertje once stated "The image of brawler is part of my biography, I rise when I feel treated unfairly."[6] According to him administrators are often incompetent, on occasion referring in particular toTineke Netelenbos andAnnemarie Jorritsma.[citation needed]
Heertje was a distinct opponent of the construction of theBetuweroute. He was one of seven independent professors, who on own initiative turned against the construction, because it would only cost money. These Professors were particularly concerned about the highly manipulative approach of theMinistry of Transport. He and his colleagues were not convinced that the returns would be as promised by the instigators.
Heertje also turned against the construction of the new North/South line of the Amsterdam subway system, because he felt that the city did not have sufficient expertise. Both organizationally, technically and financially, he envisioned a debacle. The public sector would be fooled by the private sector.[7]
In the 1970s Heertje eventually fought a futile battle to preserve the Amsterdam Volkstoneel, of which he was chairman.
In the mid-1990s he and Jo van der Hal founded theStichting Behoud Weesper Synagoge (Weesper Synagogue Preservation Foundation). Thanks to donors they bought from the municipality thesynagogue inWeesp, which hadn't been in use since 1942. He remained active in theStichting Vrienden van de Weesper Synagoge (Friends of the Weesper Synagogue Foundation), which manages the building.
At the founding of the association "Beter Onderwijs Nederland" (Better Education Netherlands) in 2006 Heertje joined the committees of recommendation. This association aims to "stimulate the potential of pupils and students by supporting thorough professional and general education as well as possible".
Heertje had an impressive scientific library of about twelve thousand books. He also collected antiquarian books on economics. He owned three thousand special books, including the first, sewn print ofDas Kapital byKarl Marx, andAn Essay on the Principle of Population byThomas Malthus from 1798.
March 2011, the book "Het Arnold Heertje-effect" was published. It contains a strong critique of Heertje's style and argumentation in the public debate. It argued that the public debate is blocked by intellectuals like Heertje.
On 14 May 2014 Heertje lost acourt case brought by theYouth Care Agency. Heertje had written an article on the websites ofYahoo! News andVolkskrant about a case involving a boy who was under the supervision of the juvenile justice system. According to Heertje, this 7-year-old boy from Amsterdam was "kidnapped" from school by theYouth Care Agency and brought to a secret place. He mentioned the names of the employees involved. According to the court in Amsterdam there was no need to mention the names of those individuals, and the court also found that Heertje's comparisons between the actions of the Youth Care Agency and events in World War II were unnecessarily hurtful and offensive. Heertje's articles therefore were removed from the Internet. The lawyer for theYouth Care Agency stated that Heertje had not done proper research into the case and that his articles amounted to public pillorying. "There was no kidnapping and the youth was taken away that day at school in consultation with the father who had the authority at that time." Heertje was unrepentant and did not express remorse.[8]
Books, a selection:[9]
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