Gabriël van den Brink is professor of politics and public administration at Tilburg University.

• 1. The question: from Adam Smith to our days 2. Theoretical perspectives on modernization 3. Introduction to Dutch society: Liquid modernity 4. Symptoms of moral erosion: nuisance and violence 5. Ordinary people and their highest ideals 6. Modernization and the change of values 7. Moral behaviour and professional life 8. Moral sentiments and social imagination 9. The moral healing of modern wounds 10. Dutch society in the European context 11. Modern society and moral defence 12. Conclusion: Reinventing civil society