New Social Movements and the New Class in the Netherlands

Abstract

The class base of the so-called new social movements is analyzed using data from the Dutch national election survey of 1986. This analysis is linked to the theory on the "new class," reconceptualized as those in the new middle class who try to defend their relative autonomy against the encroachment of the "technocrats." The analysis shows that, although the Dutch new social movements are supported by broad segments of the population, their inner circles are predominantly constituted by segments of the reconceptualized new class: the young specialists in social and cultural services, and some of the yound administrative specialists in public service. In addition, the analysis documents the liberalizing effect of education for the younger cohorts and suggests a profound change of values in the postwar period.