The situation around 1910: A new order

After tackling extreme poverty in the nineteenth century (see Chaps. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) the Netherlands faced new societal challenges around 1910: the food supply, public health care, public housing and labour issues. Water management also continued to be an important issue in well-being. Pillarisation, universal suffrage and the emergence of political parties ensured a long period of political stability with a dominant role for the confessional parties. Based on the monitors of 1910 and 1970, this chapter sketches the growth of material welfare, the improvement in personal characteristics and the investments in social, economic, and human capital. It also shows the emergent problems of natural capital, both within the Netherlands and in foreign countries. It also provides an overview of shifts in the three main categories of resources (organic, mineral, and fossil) and the associated supply chains. In this way the chapter forms the introduction to a more detailed analysis of trade-offs in the chains of agriculture and foods (Chap. 13), construction (Chap. 14) and energy (Chap. 15).