Arnold Heertje
Arnold Heertje | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 4 April 2020 Naarden, Netherlands | (aged 86)
Nationality | Dutch |
Academic career | |
Institution | University of Amsterdam |
Alma mater | University of Amsterdam |
Arnold Heertje (19 February 1934 – 4 April 2020) was a Dutch economist and professor at the University of Amsterdam, writer and columnist. He became more generally known for his opposition to the Betuweroute.
Life and career
Heertje was born on 19 February 1934 in
From 1951 to 1956 Heertje studied
In 1962 Heertje became known through his book De 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 the University 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 the Vossius Gymnasium in Amsterdam. Heertje became a member of the Royal 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 newspaper Het Parool. Some of these columns are collected in his book De vierkante waarheid (The square truth).
Heertje died on 4 April 2020 in Naarden, aged 86.[1][5]
Work
Environmental economics
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 on consumerism and financial 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 the A15 van Bemmel facing Zevenaar. He argued, that the financing of each variant of that project is based on financial quicksand.
Politics
With the exception of a momentary switch to Democratic Socialists '70 (DS'70) in the 1970s, Heertje has always been a member of the Dutch Labour 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 to Tineke Netelenbos and Annemarie Jorritsma.[citation needed]
Betuweroute and North/South line
Heertje was a distinct opponent of the construction of the
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]
Social involvement
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 the Stichting Behoud Weesper Synagoge (Weesper Synagogue Preservation Foundation). Thanks to donors they bought from the municipality the synagogue in Weesp, which hadn't been in use since 1942. He remained active in the Stichting 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".
Library
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 of
Criticism
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.
Lost court case
On 14 May 2014 Heertje lost a
Selective publications
Books, a selection:[9]
- Heertje, Arnold, and Z. St-Gallay. Economics and technical change. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1977.
- Arnold Heertje (ed.) Schumpeter's Vision. New York: Praeger, 1981.
- Stiglitz, Joseph E & Arnold Heertje (ed.), The economic role of the state. (1989).
- Heertje, Arnold, and Mark Perlman. (eds.) Evolving technology and market structure: studies in Schumpeterian economics. University of Michigan Press, 1990.
- Polak, Jacob, and Arnold Heertje. European transport economics. Blackwell, 1993.
- Walker, Donald A., Arnold Heertje, and Hans Van Den Doel. Welfare economics and the theory of economic policy. Edward Elgar, 1995.
- Heertje, Arnold, and Heinz-Dieter Wenzel. Grundlagen der Volkswirtschaftslehre. Springer-Verlag, 2013.
References
- ^ a b "Prof. dr. A. Heertje, 1934 - 2020" (in Dutch). University of Amsterdam. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Heertje (Arnold)". 31 March 2016.
- ^ Arnold Heertje: "Ik ben blij dat ik geen dominee ben geworden" (I'm glad I did not become a minister), RKK, Andersdenkenden 2007-08-26 (interview door Gerard Klaasen).
Original quote in Dutch: "Ik was onder de indruk van het feit dat alle onderduikadressen uit gezinnen bestonden die buitengewoon arm waren. Toen kwam bij mij de vraag op waar die armoede eigenlijk vandaan kwam. Ik wilde daar meer over weten en ging economie studeren." - ^ "Arnold Heertje" (in Dutch). Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ "'Huiskamereconoom' Arnold Heertje op 86-jarige leeftijd overleden" (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 5 April 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020.
- ^ Original quote in Dutch: Het imago van ruziemaker is onderdeel van mijn biografie. Ik kom in opstand als ik mij onrechtvaardig bejegend voel.
- ^ Arnold Heertje (Interview about the Noord/Zuidlijn), AT5, 12 sept 2008
- ^ "Rechter: Heertje ging te ver met uitlatingen Jeugdzorg de Volkskrant, 14 mei 2014
- ^ For listing of Dutch publications, see Dutch Wikipedia lemma.
External links
- Profile at the Digital Library of Dutch Literature (dbnl)
- "Arnold Heertje". Archived from the original on 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
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