Well-Being in Amsterdams Golden Age (review)

Dealing with the subject of the Dutch Golden Age is far from easy. It was a complex moment in history which involved all aspects of the economic, social, and cultural life of an area and a period which was decisive in the process which created the “modern” world. There is a large and articulate body of work regarding this subject. As a consequence, every social scientist wishing to deal with the Dutch Golden Age in an original manner faces ever less room for maneuver and increasing difficulty. These last considerations are valid also for the central theme of Derek Phillips’ study: well-being. Measurement of our well-being (and the inevitable comparison with that of the past) has become something of an obsession. We face a daily barrage of indicators which attempt to measure our well-being, but these often risk confusion of economic prosperity (expressed by quantitative indicators) with happiness (which is, on the contrary, linked to qualitative considerations).

These brief thoughts confirm the relevance of Philips’ study and the inherent dangers of tackling a delicate and complex subject. These dangers increase when the subjects of the study are an epoch and a society—such as the city of Amsterdam in the second half of the seventeenth century—for which qualitative data (perhaps the most important for an analysis such as this) are rarer than those which are quantitative in nature. Consequently, the subject tackled by Phillips is high risk. A risk which Phillips reduces drastically by working in a variety of directions. Firstly, by demonstrating a knowledge of literature regarding the subject. Secondly, by giving the whole study a balanced and rational structure, functional to the objectives which the author proposes to reach. Lastly, by using an interdisciplinary approach (a characteristic trait of recent studies of the subject) which is supported by a well-structured range of sources (historical, sociological, economic, biological, and other studies across a variety of fields). In my view, it is this final aspect which fully demonstrates Phillips’ intellectual effort.

Phillips’ study revolves around the theme of inequality and its effects on the well-being of the population of Amsterdam in terms of biological, physical, social, and emotional functioning. According to Phillips, there were numerous inequalities which influenced well-being and everyday relations, but the most influential systems of inequality were those relating to civic status, economic standing, and gender. The differing positions of individuals within these hierarchies conditioned a plurality of distinct areas of human life taken to be particularly indicative of the individual level of well-being: personal autonomy, self-esteem, quality of interpersonal relations, access to economic resources, and survival. To measure the level of well-being connected to each of these aspects, Phillips has used a series of empirical indicators to monitor diverse categories of individuals for the whole duration of their lives.

There are two main aims of Phillips’ study: to assess the well-being of the inhabitants of Amsterdam and to explain the mechanisms which connect this with the position occupied within the economic, citizenship, and gender hierarchies. That which more than any other factor characterizes Phillips’ study is this attempt to link inequalities and well-being. The structure of the book reflects both the introduction and the objectives. This can be understood starting from the contents page: the first two chapters are, in fact, dedicated to the definition of the possible hierarchies in terms of civil status and economic standing and the implications that these had upon well-being. Phillips highlights profound social and economic differences which had a marked effect upon many aspects of daily life. These inequalities influenced wellbeing by acting not only upon material factors. Varying economic conditions, for example, influenced not only the possibility of meeting basic subsistence needs: the rich also held the poor in low esteem and readily demonstrated that this was the case. The same considerations were also valid for gender differences: obedience, deference, respect, and subordination governed every type of relation. For the...