Reviewed by:

• Well-Being, Sustainability and Social Development: The Netherlands 1850–2050 by Harry Lintsen et al.
• Helmuth Trischler (bio)

In the field of history of technology, Dutch scholars are known for their ability to launch large-scale research projects and conclude them with multi-volume publication series. The book series “Technology in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century” with six volumes, and “Technology in the Netherlands in the twentieth century” with seven volumes (published in Dutch by Walburgpers), are impressive examples of what can be achieved when scholars pool their intellectual resources.

This latest work by the proficient Dutch history of technology group might seem no different in that the group effort involved not only these four authors but many more scholars, and the result is a long-term history of the Netherlands seen through the lens of technology. Yet this series differs from others in significant ways: first, it is not a multi-volume series but a monograph; second, it is interdisciplinary, comprising economic history, [End Page 963] environmental history, social sciences, and statistics; third, it is future-oriented and aims to provide policy advice on the guiding question: How can history help shape a pathway towards a low-carbon society that simultaneously fosters social well-being and ecological sustainability? Plus, its publication mode is different. The publisher Springer also offers an open access online version with additional material (mostly in Dutch).

The book’s baseline is the authors’ uneasiness with the conventional understanding of well-being that relates to economic development and is measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) changes. Instead, they apply a diversified system of monitoring well-being developed by Statistics Netherlands and adopted by statistical communities worldwide. The set of two dozen indicators analyzed and interpreted in the book cover more than a century and a half (1850–2010), ranging from material welfare and personal characteristics to natural and institutional environments, and from natural and economic capital to human and social capital. The authors’ shared understanding of sustainability extends beyond the conventional Brundtland definition of meeting the present generation’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, not only here “but elsewhere in the world.”

The five parts of this book begin with a lengthy prologue to establish the frame of reference and narrate the Dutch situation around 1850. Three chronological sections follow: the “Great Transformation 1850–1910,” the period of “New Problems 1910–1970,” and the “Great Turnabout 1970– 2010.” A substantial epilogue summarizes long-term developments since 1850, provides an outlook into the future around 2050, and offers strategies for sustainable well-being. The main narrative is linear. From a country plagued by extreme poverty and huge inequality in 1850, the Netherlands became a wealthy and comparatively just society, experiencing a vast increase in well-being over the following century. Economic modernization and social justice came at a price, namely depleted natural capital. The turning point was in the 1960s and ’70s, when sustainability issues became visible and the transition to a postmodern society began. With industrial transition and the return of economic crises, social inequality increased as did sustainability problems in ecological systems both at home and abroad. A particular strength of the book is that it is not confined to the Dutch nation and highlights the global entanglements in Dutch history. With an open economy based on international trade, the Netherlands externalized environmental problems “elsewhere,” implying that the increased well-being within the nation went hand in hand with a decline abroad. The environmental cost, at a spatial as well as a temporal level, shifted to an undefined “later,” when future generations will have to deal with the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Harry Lintsen and his team are to be lauded for a convincingly conceptualized techno-scientific, economic, and social history of the Netherlands. [End Page 964] One could criticize that the book’s structure creates recurrences and limits its narrative quality. Also, some chapters do not have up-to-date...

审核人：

• 幸福，可持续性和社会发展：哈里·林森（Harry Lintsen）等人在荷兰1850-2050年发表。
• 赫尔姆特·特里斯勒（生物）

在技​​术历史领域，荷兰学者以发起大型研究项目并以多卷出版物系列结束它们的能力而闻名。本书系列“六世纪的荷兰技术”和六卷“二十世纪的荷兰技术”（沃尔伯格斯在荷兰出版）是令人印象深刻的例子，证明了当学者们齐心协力时可以取得的成就。他们的智力资源。

熟练的荷兰技术史小组的最新工作似乎没有什么不同，因为小组的工作不仅涉及这四位作者，而且涉及更多的学者，其结果是从技术的角度看荷兰的悠久历史。然而，该系列与其他系列有很大不同：首先，它不是多卷丛书，而是专着。其次，它是跨学科的，包括经济历史，[末页963]环境史，社会科学和统计学；第三，它面向未来，旨在就以下指导性问题提供政策建议：历史如何帮助塑造通向低碳社会的道路，同时促进社会福祉和生态可持续性？另外，其发布方式也不同。出版商Springer还提供了带有其他资料的开放访问在线版本（大部分为荷兰语）。

本书的基线是作者对与经济发展相关的传统福祉的不安，并以国内生产总值（GDP）的变化来衡量。取而代之的是，他们采用了由荷兰统计局开发并被全世界统计界采用的多元化的福利监测系统。书中分析和解释的这套十二个指标涵盖了一个半多世纪（1850-2010年），范围从物质福利和个人特征到自然和制度环境，从自然和经济资本到人力和社会资本。作者们对可持续性的共同理解超出了布伦特兰（Brundtland）的传统定义，即在不损害子孙后代满足其自身需求的能力的前提下满足当代人的需求，

The five parts of this book begin with a lengthy prologue to establish the frame of reference and narrate the Dutch situation around 1850. Three chronological sections follow: the “Great Transformation 1850–1910,” the period of “New Problems 1910–1970,” and the “Great Turnabout 1970– 2010.” A substantial epilogue summarizes long-term developments since 1850, provides an outlook into the future around 2050, and offers strategies for sustainable well-being. The main narrative is linear. From a country plagued by extreme poverty and huge inequality in 1850, the Netherlands became a wealthy and comparatively just society, experiencing a vast increase in well-being over the following century. Economic modernization and social justice came at a price, namely depleted natural capital. The turning point was in the 1960s and ’70s, when sustainability issues became visible and the transition to a postmodern society began. With industrial transition and the return of economic crises, social inequality increased as did sustainability problems in ecological systems both at home and abroad. A particular strength of the book is that it is not confined to the Dutch nation and highlights the global entanglements in Dutch history. With an open economy based on international trade, the Netherlands externalized environmental problems “elsewhere,” implying that the increased well-being within the nation went hand in hand with a decline abroad. The environmental cost, at a spatial as well as a temporal level, shifted to an undefined “later,” when future generations will have to deal with the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss.

哈里·林森（Harry Lintsen）和他的团队因其令人信服的概念化荷兰技术，经济和社会历史而受到赞誉。[完第964页]人们可能会批评这本书的结构会重复出现并限制其叙述质量。另外，某些章节没有最新的...