A Fatal Moment for the Dutch Cultural Sector
3rd October 2024
In the Netherlands, there is much unrest in the cultural sector over the Dutch government’s intention to increase VAT on culture, books, and sports, raising the rate from 9% to 21% effective 1 January 2026. The VAT increase in question is indeed a problem for the cultural sector, which has experienced significant pressure in the wake of COVID-19. Yet, all in all, it is a relatively minor problem; and, in fact, the fuss being made about it serves to divert attention from a much bigger problem within the Dutch cultural sector. For what is destroying the cultural sector from within is woke ideology, which is ultimately aimed not at the reformation of the sector, but at the complete demise of all heritage institutions.
Are such assessments overblown? I am afraid not. After all, wokeism argues that Western cultural heritage is an expression of colonialism, racism, and abuse of power. In other words, that cultural heritage is a legacy of the privileged white man and his ‘evil’ historical deeds. It is therefore perfectly logical that the adherents of the woke ideology want to bring about a new world, “unburdened by what has been” (to put it in the words of Kamala Harris). But, by definition, the notion of tabula rasa is incompatible with a desire to possess a meaningful and enduring cultural heritage.