Dirk Verhofstadt
Categories: Liberalism stubs | 1955 births
Dirk Verhofstadt (born 1955) is a Belgian liberal (Rawlsian) theorist and brother of the Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt. With his book Het menselijk liberalisme (Human Liberalism) he inspires politicians in Belgian liberal parties as well as in the Dutch party Democraten 66. He defends liberalism against attacks by anti-globalists, by stating that liberalism implies/should imply solidarity and that green politics is not contradictory to liberalism. His latest book is named Pleidooi voor het individualisme (A Plea for Individualism). He is also staff-member of Liberales [1], a new 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 narrow minded conservatism related to social economic, ecological and ethical issues supported by compartmentalized parties and structures.