World View | What the Netherlands Metro Taught Me about Crime

On Dutch trams, it seems, cheating the fare system would pay. Why are riders so honest?

Kohlberg’s lens, it appears that most Dutch comply with the tram system’s method of charging simply because they are higher up on the index of moral maturity. That is, rather than just obey a law in order to avoid punishment; it appears that the typical Dutch tram rider is probably at level of 3 or above. In other words, they obey the tram law system because they see higher moral consequences if they and the other tram riders did not pay to ride.

This seems attitude seems to be borne out in other aspects of Dutch society as well. For example, prison sentences are typically much less in Dutch society than they are in American society. Under Dutch law the maximum prison sentence is 15 years and may be extended to 20 years for murders. The death penalty is outlawed. Despite the lower prison terms, however, the Netherlands has a much lower crime rate per capita for murders, rapes and aggravated assault than does the United States. For instance, according to the FBI, there were 6.1 murders per 100,000 people in the United States in 2006; in the Netherlands, according to the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics, there was just one murder per 100,000 people. And before someone in the reading audience suggests that the Dutch don’t report violent crimes, let me say that I have found that the Dutch people to be just as quick to report illegal activity and the Dutch police to very professional, efficient and relatively free of corruption--every bit the equivalent of their American counterparts.

As an American, I find it hard to swallow the idea that the typical Dutch citizen might actually be operating on a higher moral plain than the typical American. Yet there does appear to be something at work in the Netherlands that is missing in American society. It could be that the value of deterrence in reducing crime is grossly overrated. But I suspect the primary cause is that the Dutch feel a closer connection to their society than do Americans. Dutch culture emphasizes egalitarianism, social security and everyone doing their part in society. This culture was formed by centuries of battling against the sea, where everyone worked together to reclaim land from the sea and pitched in to aid others in times of flooding. The culture in the United States, by contrast, is one that emphasizes the individual, the importance of