This is what the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) writes in a major study into ‘contemporary inequality’. The SCP says that a broader view is needed to see what inequality really looks like.
Music taste and friends play a role
The planning office shows that economic inequality is ‘entangled’ with other inequalities. These inequalities can be personal (health, appearance, self-confidence), social (people you talk to about personal matters, or who can help you), and cultural (music taste, first name, digital skills).
The planning office questioned 6,800 Dutch people and linked their answers to data from Statistics Netherlands about their economic situation. This resulted in the report Contemporary Inequality.
Seven social classes
Using a statistical model, the researchers divided them into seven similar groups: the social classes.
The classes in the SCP report:
the working upper class (19.9 percent) the younger, wealthy (8.6 percent) the upper class who earn money (12.2 percent) the working middle group (24.9 percent) the low-skilled retirees (18.1 percent) the insecure workers (10 percent) the precariat (people who are very vulnerable and underprivileged, 6.3 percent).
The difference between the social classes: the highest, the ‘working upper class’, scores well on all aspects. The following ‘young people with opportunities’ are not: they are economically in the middle bracket, but compensate for this with their good scores on health, network and digital skills.
The position of the lowest social class, the ‘precariat’, is seen by the SCP as worrying. This group has the worst financial situation, is the unhealthiest and has the most mental problems. The group has the least confidence in fellow human beings and in politics. One in six Dutch people belong to one of these groups.
Economic measures insufficient
The differences between the groups are ‘big and persistent’ and, according to the planning office, something needs to change. The main message: recognize that inequality is a complex problem that cannot be tackled with economic measures alone.
These are often not efficient enough and ignore the necessity of having a social network, digital skills and health, the agency warns.
Target group policy outdated
In addition, the planning office warns against the classic target group policy, which according to the SCP is outdated. “These target groups come from several social classes and cannot be lumped together.”
Placing the responsibility for improving their own position with the individual citizen is also not ideal, because the lower classified classes are less successful.
The SCP concludes in the report that the ‘structural inequality’ is ‘persistent’ and has ‘major consequences’, also for society as a whole. To combat this structural inequality, the planning office wants to start a discussion about how people can be helped on several fronts at the same time.
According to the agency, much more targeted help can be offered, especially at crucial moments in life, to better orient society in such a way that differences play less of a role.
