Josephus Johannes Maria (Jos) van der Lans (born 2 April 1954, in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

) is a cultural psychologist,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and writer. Between 1999 and 2007 he was member of the Dutch

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

GreenLeft (, ; GL) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the ...

Background

Van der Lans has a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

background. Between 1960 and 1967 he attended a Catholic primary school in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

(until 1964) and

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. Between 1967 and 1973 he attended a Catholic secondary school in The Hague. He attended the atheneum and specialized in

sciences Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

. Between 1973 and 1981 he studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at the Catholic University Nijmegen. In 1977 he received his candidate's exam (roughly equivalent to a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

) and in 1981 he received his doctoral exam (roughly equivalent to a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

. Van der Lans specialized in cultural psychology and

Psychology of religion Psychology of religion consists of the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the diverse contents of religious traditions as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The various methods and frameworks ...

. He also took additional courses in

communication studies Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

and

education studies Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken a ...

. He wrote his doctoral thesis about "Youth Culture,

Provo Provo or Provos may refer to: Places United States * Provo, Kentucky, an unincorporated community South Dakota * Provo, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Provo Township, Fall River County, South Dakota Utah * Provo, Utah, a city ** P ...

and the Youth Movement" . Between 1979 and 1981 he attended courses to become a teacher in

civics In the field of political science, civics is the study of the civil and political rights and obligations of citizens in a society. The term ''civics'' derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". In U.S. politics ...

and

science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

. Between 1977 and 1981 he worked as a student-assistant on the faculty of

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

s at different departments. Between 1977 and 1983 he worked as a journalist for the quarterly magazine ''Psychologie & Maatschappij'' (''Psychology and Society''). As a student Van der Lans was active in the student movement and in university politics. Between 1975 and 1977 he was chair of the Nijmegen Student Union and between 1977 and 1978 he was the student member of the board of the subfaculty of psychology. In 1978 Van der Lans joined the

Communist Party of the Netherlands The Communist Party of the Netherlands (, , CPN) was a communist party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1909 as the Social Democratic Party (Netherlands), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and merged with the Pacifist Socialist Party, the ...

, which he left in 1986 because internal struggles had caused the decline of the party.ARCHIEF VAN JOS VAN DER LANS - POLITICUS
op josvdlans.nl

Journalist and Writer

Since 1981 Van der Lans started to work as journalist. First as a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

for the magazine ''Jeugd en Samenleving'' (''Youth and Society''). Between 1982 and 1987 he was editor of the magazine ''Marge'', the monthly journal for

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. Between 1983 and 1984 he was part-time teacher in psychology at the Advanced School in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

. Between 1987 he was assistant

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

and later editor in chief of the ''Welzijnseweekblad'', the weekly magazine for social work and the Tijdschrift voor de Sociale Sector, another journal on social work. Between 1987 and 1995 he wrote for '' De Helling'' (''The Slope''), the quarterly of the

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

s of the political parties CPN, the

Pacifist Socialist Party The Pacifist Socialist Party (, PSP) was a Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. It is one of the predecessors of GroenLinks. Party history Before 1957 In 1955, a group of "politically homeless" activists ...

and the

Political Party of Radicals The Political Party of Radicals (, PPR) was a progressive Christian (''radicaal-christelijke'') and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to for ...

. These parties merged in 1989 to form

, which Van der Lans joined. ''De Helling'' became the quarterly of the think tank of this party. In this period Van der Lans was also active in civil society. He was a member of the Board of the Catholic Youth Organization, Catholic Service Institute for Life Forming. He also was a member of the board of the ''De Helling''. Between 1990 and 1991 Van der Lans was full-time freelancer with his own advice bureau, which worked in the (semi-)

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

. Between 1991 and 1994 he worked for

De Volkskrant ''De Volkskrant'' (; ), stylized as de Volkskrant, is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium- ...

, a major centre-left daily as editor of the opinion & discussion page "Forum". He also worked for the Tijdschrift voor de Sociale Sector and other magazines in the semi-public sector. In 1993 he left De Volkskrant and worked

De Groene Amsterdammer ''De Groene Amsterdammer'' () is an independent Dutch weekly news magazine published in Amsterdam. It is one of the five independent opinion magazines in the Netherlands, alongside '' HP/De Tijd'', '' Vrij Nederland'', ''Elsevier'' and the Jewish ...

, a left wing weekly (between 1993 and 1999) and for

Vrij Nederland ''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly turned monthly magazin ...

, another leftwing weekly (between 2001 and 2004). At Vrij Nederland he edited the opinion & discussion page "Burning Issues". He also had a column in the Tijdschrift voor sociale vraagstukken (since 1994) and the weekly magazine for parents J/M (between 1997 and 1999). He continued to be active for de Helling as an editor. Between 1995 and 2000 he also was a member of the board of the

think tank. In 2005 Van der Lans wrote ''Koning Burger'' (''King Citizen'') a critical analysis of the relationship between government and citizen. It was followed by ''Ontregelen'' (''De-regulate'') on the position of professionals in the (semi-)public sector.ONTREGELEN
on josvdlans.nl Van der Lans continues to work as a freelancer. He writes several columns: for the magazine of Aedes (the federation of

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

agencies), for DANS (the magazine of the centre for amateur dancing) and the GreenLeft magazine. Furthermore, he is the member of several boards in the semi-public sector, such as organisation advise bureau De Beuk, HVO Querido, a foundation for social work, the Foundation for the interest of

homeless people Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

in Amsterdam ("Stichting Belangenbehartiging Amsterdamse Dak- en Thuislozen"), the Foundation Culture at

't IJ The IJ (; sometimes shown on old maps as ''Y'' or ''Ye'') is a body of water, formerly a bay, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is known for being Amsterdam's waterfront. Etymology The name ''IJ'' is deri ...

and his own foundation EROPAF! (RIGHT AT IT!), an initiative based around his vision on the role of professionals and citizens in the public sector.

Member of the Senate

Between 1999 and 2007 Van der Lans was a member of the

parliamentary party A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

in the Dutch

. He spoke on a range of issues: transport, public works and water management; housing, spatial planning and the environment; culture and economic affairs. Between 2003 and 2007 he chaired the parliamentary committee on Transport, Public Works and Water Management. He voted against his own parliamentary party on the parliamentary approval of the marriage between

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

Máxima Zorreguieta Máxima may refer to * ''Máxima'' (magazine) * Máxima FM, Spanish radio station * Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, consort to the King of the Netherlands * Máxima (TV series) ''Máxima'' is a Dutch biographical television series developed by ...

out of

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

an sentiments.profile
on parlement.com

Political and social ideas

Van der Lans mainly writes on the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

and specifically the role of

and

agencies. He is primarily interested in the relationship between government, citizens and professionals in the public sector. Since 1994 Van der Lans has pled, together with

Paul Kuypers Paul Herman Felix Kuypers (4 June 1939, Elst (Overbetuwe), Gelderland - d. near Ierapetra, Crete, Greece, 9 September 1971) was a Dutch agriculture expert, widely known in Ierapetra as the "Dutchman". He is credited with introducing new planting t ...

in their ''Modern Paternalisme'' (Modern Paternalisme), against the culture of non-interference in social work. Social workers should intervene actively in the life of their clients without becoming moralist (as in the 1950s) or overly persistent (as in the 1970s).Bemoeien werkt
on josvdlans.nl According to Van der Lans this culture of non-intervention is a result of the larger scale of social work and the increased respect for

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

of citizens. Professionals such as teachers, policemen and social workers, should according to Van der Lans be freed from the increased

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

in the public sector. In the eyes of Van der Lans, the increased bureaucracy is a result of the larger demand of the transparency in the civil service from the politics.Hilhorst, Pieter "Verlamde professionals" in De Volkskrant 8-3-2008. Reproduce
josvdlans.nl
/ref> When professionals free themselves from bureaucracy they can orient themselves to their work on the "front lines of society". They should interfere in the life of their clients with a "right at it"-mentality. Van der Lans is very critical of the role of citizens in the public sector. In his eyes citizens act as "kings": they expect government to solve their problems immediately.KONING BURGER
on josvdlans.nl The government reacts as servant: politicians claim to want to listen to citizens. According to Van der Lans these relations have changed radically: before the politicians were the "kings" and the citizens servants.Koper, A., "Leve de overheid, weg met de burger" in ''De Volkskrant'' 11-11-2005. Reproduced a
josvdlans.nl
/ref> Van der Lans denies that there is a problem of representation in politics: never has politics tried to respond so strongly to the demands of citizens. This has shown the weakness of government however, which cannot deal with all the demands of all the citizens in the short term.

Private life

Van der Lans co-habits. He has four children, two of which are

foster child Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member ...

ren.

Publications

This is a selection of Van der Lans' publicationsFor a full list se
Overview of books
on josvdlans.nl * "Giftige bonbons" ("Poisonous Chocolates" stories, 1986) * "Modern Paternalisme" ("Modern Paternalism" manifest, 1994, with Paul Kuypers) * "De onzichtbare samenleving" ("The Unseen Society" essays, 1995) * "Lage landen. Hoge sprongen. Nederland in beweging 1898-1998" ("Low Countries. High Jumps. The Netherlands on the move 1898-1998" 1998 with

Herman Vuijsje Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minneso ...

) * "Typisch Nederlands. Vademecum van de Nederlandse identiteit" ("Typically Dutch. Handbook on the Dutch identity" 1999 with Herman Vuijsje) * "Het verlangen naar de stad" ("the Desire of the City" 2002 with Herman Vuijsje) * "Het woninkrijk der Bloemstraters" ("The small kingdom of those who lived in the Bloemstraat" 2003) * "Bemoeien werkt" ("Intervention works" 2003 with Nies Medema en Marc Räkers) * "Koning burger - Nederland als zelfbedieningszaak" ("King Citizens - the Netherlands as Supermarket" 2005) * "Ontregelen - De herovering van de werkvloer" ("De-regulate - The return of the professional" 2008)