The Dutch are famous for their relaxed laws about a lot of Western
society taboos: drugs, prostitution, gay marriage, euthenasia, etc.
The overall question is: How did their society develop to encourage
these freedoms?

I'm not looking for detail on the specific laws of each of the
'taboos' I have listed above. I expect that the Dutch law on each area
will have been informed by a common set of assumptions, and it's
details on these that I'm looking for.

Specifically, what are the underlying philosophical, historical and
legal perspectives underlying this position? Why did the Dutch
lawmakers choose to adopt this new approach? What did the dutch people
think about it at the time? And have the perspectives been
significantly adapted since?

I'm completing an essay on Dutch tolerance for a travel writing course
I'm taking so any colour in the description would be lovely. I'm
hoping that these topics have already been addressed somewhere on the
web.

Hi andrewharder:

Thanks for the facscinating question! I've often wondered this myself.

I was able to find the following excellent
historical/philosophical/legal prespectives on Dutch tolerance:

Tolerance - Topic: The Dutch 
http://www.hiptravelguide.com/amsterdam/php/article.php?sid=45

Dutch Tolerance Persists Despite Pressure to Emulate Drug War Approach
http://www.ndsn.org/APRIL93/DUTCH.html

The Best Overview of Dutch Tolerance Policies I Have Ever Read; And It
is From A Little Rock Weekly!
http://www.marijuananews.com/marijuananews/cowan/best_overview_of_dutch_tolerance.htm

First Do No Harm - An overview of Dutch Tolerance
http://www.aristotle.net/market/freep/1002/features/features2.html

The Roots of Dutch Tolerance
http://www.expatica.com/index.asp?HRSite=&pad=34,35,&item_id=9608


I hope that this information has been of help in your essay. 
               
If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,
please ask using the Clarification feature and provide me with
additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please
allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this
answer.
                    
Thank you.                     
                    
websearcher-ga                    
                    
                  
Search Strategy (on Google):             

"dutch tolerance" 
"dutch tolerance" history

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Request for Answer Clarification by andrewharder-ga on 10 Feb 2003 11:02 PST

First of all, thanks for your help.

These sources are interesting, but pretty general. They all appear to
be overviews or introductions to the subject, rather than completeing
any in-depth or first-hand work. There are only passing mentions of
philosophical and legal foundations of Dutch tolerance. The first two
paragraphs of the Hip Guide overview were the best by far, but there
was only two paragraphs of it!

I'm looking for a more considered examination of the foundations of
Dutch tolerance, with enough detail for me to apply it to my
observations of current Dutch life. This would probably happen in a
document long enough to move beyond 'those crazy dutch people' stories
-- I hope to make some of them myself!

cheers,
Andrew.

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Clarification of Answer by websearcher-ga on 10 Feb 2003 11:59 PST

Hello andrewharder:

Thank you for the clarification request. 

I did some further searching, but was unable to find any more in-depth
studies of Dutch tolerance on the Web.

However, I did find three excellent-looking books which approach the
topic from various viewpoints:

Calvinism and Religious Toleration in the Dutch Golden Age
http://books.cambridge.org/0521806828.htm

The Emergence of Tolerance in the Dutch Republic 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/9004107681/qid=1044906903/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9521700-5332100?v=glance&s=books

Dutch Pluralism: A Model in Tolerance for Developing Democracies 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0820413569/qid=1044906903/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-9521700-5332100?v=glance&s=books

If you don't want to buy these books (some are rather expensive), I
suggest checking your local (university) library.

Hope this helps. 

websearcher-ga