Dirk Verhofstadt
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Dirk Verhofstadt (born 25 August 1955 in Dendermonde) is a
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
social liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
( Rawlsian) theorist and younger brother of former Belgian Prime Minister and former ALDE European Parliament Leader Guy Verhofstadt. He has a keen interest in
political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...
, and his philosophical outlook is influenced by Karl Popper, John Stuart Mill, Cesare Beccaria,
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
,
Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
and Martha Nussbaum.


Education

He graduated in law and press- and communication sciences, and obtained a PhD in moral philosophy at the
University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
. He was professor ''Media and ethics'' at the University of Ghent until 2020. On 1 July 2010 he obtained the degree of Doctor of Moral Science at the
University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
with his doctoral dissertation "Pius XII and the extermination of the Jews. A moral and historical research into the moral responsibility of Pope Pius XII regarding the
Final Solution to the Jewish Question The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
."


Think tank

He is a member of
Liberales Liberales is an independent liberal think tank (some tend to call Liberales left-liberal), located in Ghent, Flanders, Belgium. The organization promotes progressive liberalism and supports individual freedom, justice, a certain degree of self ...
, an independent think tank within the liberal movement. Its members consider liberalism as a progressive movement supporting individual freedom, justice and human rights. Liberales reacts against what it calls "narrow minded conservatism" related to social economic, ecological and ethical issues supported by "compartmentalized" parties and structures.


Writings

With his book ''Het menselijk liberalisme'' (Human Liberalism), he inspires politicians in Belgian liberal parties as well as in the Dutch parties
Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...
and
Democraten 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democ ...
. He defends liberalism against attacks by anti-globalists, by stating that liberalism implies/should imply solidarity and that
green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...
is not contradictory to liberalism. He wrote the books ''Pleidooi voor het individualisme'' (A Plea for Individualism) and ''De derde feministische golf'' (The Third Feminist Wave), much of it focusing on
Islamic feminism Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and soci ...
and its impact in Europe. This book contains exclusive interviews with
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ayaan Hirsi Ali (; ; Somali: ''Ayaan Xirsi Cali'':'' Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī;'' born Ayaan Hirsi Magan, ar, أيان حرسي علي / ALA-LC: ''Ayān Ḥirsī 'Alī'' 13 November 1969) is a Somali-born Dutch-American activist and former politicia ...
,
Irshad Manji Irshad Manji (born 1968) is a Ugandan-born Canadian educator. She is the author of ''The Trouble with Islam Today'' (2004) and ''Allah, Liberty and Love'' (2011), both of which have been banned in several Muslim countries. She also produced a P ...
, Naima El Bezaz, , and Yasmine Allas. On 26 September 2008, he released his new book ''Pius XII and the extermination of the Jews'' in the Dutch language. In this book, he examines the position of Pacelli, the later
Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...
, towards
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
’s seizure of power, the downfall of the Catholic
Zentrumspartei The Centre Party (german: Zentrum), officially the German Centre Party (german: link=no, Deutsche Zentrumspartei) and also known in English as the Catholic Centre Party, is a Catholic political party in History of Germany, Germany, influential i ...
, the
Reichskonkordat The ''Reichskonkordat'' ("Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich") is a treaty negotiated between the Vatican and the emergent Nazi Germany. It was signed on 20 July 1933 by Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, who later be ...
between Nazi-Germany and the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
, the encyclical ''
Mit brennender Sorge ''Mit brennender Sorge'' ( , in English "With deep anxiety") ''On the Church and the German Reich'' is an encyclical of Pope Pius XI, issued during the Nazi era on 10 March 1937 (but bearing a date of Passion Sunday, 14 March)."Church and st ...
'' (With Burning Concern), paganism, the
Nazist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
education programs, the ‘ T4-program’ (the murder of physically and mentally handicapped persons), the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
,
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, the
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
-president
Jozef Tiso Jozef Gašpar Tiso (; hu, Tiszó József; 13 October 1887 – 18 April 1947) was a Slovak politician and Roman Catholic priest who served as president of the Slovak Republic, a client state of Nazi Germany during World War II, from 1939 to 194 ...
of
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, the Ustasha in
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...
, the deportation of Jews from Rome, the Hungarian
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
, the help offered to war criminals, the resistance against Nazism, the alleged refusal of the Church to "give back Jewish" children who had been in hiding, the failures of the Allies, alleged
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
after the Holocaust, and the moral question of alleged guilt of the Church and the pope. In November 2019 he published the book ''Ide Leib Kartuz. Tailor in Auschwitz'' with David Van Turnhout as co-author. In July 2022 the English version ''A Tailor in Auschwitz'' was published by Pen & Sword Books. Verhofstadt has often collaborated with Dutch jurist and philosopher Paul Cliteur.


Bibliography

* ''A Tailor in Auschwitz'' (2022) co-authored with David Van Turnhout - Pen & Sword Books * ''In gesprek met Johan Braeckman. Een zoektocht naar menselijkheid'' (2021) * ''Chef-kok in IG Auschwitz'' (''Chef at Auschwitz'') (2021) co-authored with Annie Van Paemel * ''The Liberal Canon. The Foundations of Liberalism'' (2020) * ''Resoconto intermedio sugli archivi di Pio XII (rapport)'' (2020) * ''Ide Leib Kartuz. Kleermaker in Auschwitz'' (''A tailor in Auschwitz'') (2019) co-authored with David Van Turnhout * ''De liberale ideologie. Voorbij het links-rechts denken'' (2019) * ''In Naam van God'' (2018), co-authored with Paul Cliteur * ''De geschiedenis van het liberalisme'' (2017) * ''Theorieën over rechtvaardigheid. De John Rawlslezingen'' (Ed.) (2017) * ''Salafisme versus democratie'' (2016) * ''Het Atheïstisch Woordenboek'' (2015), co-authored with Paul Cliteur * ''De Liberale Canon'' (2015) * ''Cesare Beccaria. 250 jaar over misdaden en straffen'' (2014) * ''1914. Het vervloekte jaar'' (2014) * ''Atheïsme als basis voor de moraal'' (2013) * ''Pius XII. und die Vernichtung der Juden'' (2013) * ''A Plea for Individualism'' (2013) * ''In gesprek met Paul Cliteur. Een zoektocht naar harmonie'' (2012) * ''De open samenleving onder vuur'' (Ed.) (2012) * ''Media en ethiek'' (2012) * ''De Laatste Getuigen'' (2011), co-author Luckas Vander Taelen * ''In gesprek met Etienne Vermeersch. Een zoektocht naar waarheid'' (2011) * ''A moral and historical research into the moral responsibility of Pope Pius XII regarding the Final Solution to the Jewish Question'' (2010) * ''Het liberale denken van Thomas Paine'' (Ed). (2009) * ''John Stuart Mill. 150 jaar over vrijheid'' (Ed). (2009) * ''Pius XII en de vernietiging van de Joden'' (2008) * ''De derde feministische golf'' (2006) * ''Pleidooi voor individualisme'' (2004) * ''Het menselijk liberalisme'' (2002) * ''Het einde van het BRT-monopolie'' (1982)


See also

*
Contributions to liberal theory Contribution or Contribute may refer to: * ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990) ** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album *Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability *Contributions, a ...
*
Liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
*
Liberalism in Belgium This article gives an overview of liberalism in Belgium. Liberalism was a dominant force since the Belgian independence from the Netherlands. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representati ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verhofstadt, Dirk 1955 births 20th-century atheists 21st-century atheists Living people Flemish academics Belgian atheists 21st-century Belgian philosophers Ghent University alumni Belgian social liberals Critics of the Catholic Church