Fortuyn had been a Marxist from an aversion to the Dutch political establishment, that he saw as dominated by pillarization and a "regent mentality".
In 1986, he embraced neoliberalism, hoping that the free market would lead to further individual emancipation, ending a perceived oppression by state bureaucracy.
In 1991, he proposed firing half of all civil servants and promoted privatisation and decentralisation.
In 1992, Fortuyn wrote Aan het volk van Nederland ("To the people of the Netherlands"), its title derived from a pamphlet by the charismatic but controversial 18th-century Dutch patriot politician Joan Derk van der Capellen tot den Pol.
The book urges the already culturally emancipated citizen to use the free market to also liberate himself economically, from the welfare state.

Though on economic matters Fortuyn would largely remain a neoliberal, culturally he soon became strongly influenced by the neoconservative chief editor of the weekly Elsevier Hendrik Jan Schoo who made him a columnist in 1993.
Schoo deplored that a progressive new class would have promoted multiculturalism, founding an anti-racist civil religion on article 1 of the Dutch constitution, forbidding discrimination.
Whereas in the early 1990s Fortuyn had had liberal views on immigration, this changed under the influence of Schoo.

Dutch neocons understood that in the evermore secularising Netherlands a change on the lines of the Reagan Revolution had become highly improbable.
Women's rights, gay rights, abortion and euthanasia had been generally accepted.
In his 1995 book De verweesde samenleving ("The orphaned society"), Fortuyn claimed that the progressive movement of the 1960s had eroded traditional norms and values.
Both the roles of the "symbolic father" and the "caring mother" had been lost, leaving an orphaned population without guidance, to live out a meaningless decadent existence.
However, he did not propose a return to the old value system.
Media, schools and artists should provide a moral leadership, explicitly promoting and defending the new values of modern Western society, constantly recreating the Dutch identity.

Adopting the philosophical analysis by Carl Schmitt, it was assumed that such an identity could only be defined in antithesis to some actually existing concrete enemy.
Inspired by Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations, Dutch ethnicity was to be re-invented by identifying that enemy as Islam.
In his 1997 book Tegen de islamisering van onze cultuur ("Against the islamisation of our culture"), Fortuyn proposed that after the fall of communism a new adversary and thereby a collective destiny had to be found in a deliberate confrontation with Muslim culture.
Fortuyn explained the global fundamentalist wave of the 1990s as a backlash against the insecurities caused by globalisation.
The Dutch should counter Islamic fundamentalism by promoting and defending their own fundament, Dutch culture, especially modernism and the Enlightenment values.
These should not yet be imposed on the Dutch population as a whole, with the exception of immigrants.

Whereas American neoconservatives promoted hard power policies in relation to the Muslim world, Dutch neocons favoured a soft power approach.
Shortly before the September 11 attacks, Fortuyn in a column called for a Cold War against Islam, meaning a non-military defensive enmity.
The attacks and the War on Terror for the first time made Islam a main issue in Dutch politics.
Until 1989 a member of the social-democratic Labour Party, and later of the VVD, Fortuyn because of his known anti-Islamic stance was by Jan Nagel invited to become the front runner of the newly formed anti-establishment Livable Netherlands party.
He was elected "lijsttrekker"  by a large majority of the party members on 26 November 2001, prior to the Dutch general election of 2002.
In the campaign he attacked the mainstream policies on multiculturalism, immigration and crime, and the perceived domination of politics and the media by a "left-wing church."

On 9 February 2002, he was interviewed by the Volkskran
Fortuyn had been a Marxist from an aversion to the Dutch political establishment, that he saw as dominated by pillarization and a "regent mentality". In 1986, he embraced neoliberalism, hoping that the free market would lead to further individual emancipation, ending a perceived oppression by state bureaucracy. In 1991, he proposed firing half of all civil servants and promoted privatisation and decentralisation. In 1992, Fortuyn wrote Aan het volk van Nederland ("To the people of the Netherlands"), its title derived from a pamphlet by the charismatic but controversial 18th-century Dutch patriot politician Joan Derk van der Capellen tot den Pol. The book urges the already culturally emancipated citizen to use the free market to also liberate himself economically, from the welfare state.
Though on economic matters Fortuyn would largely remain a neoliberal, culturally he soon became strongly influenced by the neoconservative chief editor of the weekly Elsevier Hendrik Jan Schoo who made him a columnist in 1993. Schoo deplored that a progressive new class would have promoted multiculturalism, founding an anti-racist civil religion on article 1 of the Dutch constitution, forbidding discrimination. Whereas in the early 1990s Fortuyn had had liberal views on immigration, this changed under the influence of Schoo.
Dutch neocons understood that in the evermore secularising Netherlands a change on the lines of the Reagan Revolution had become highly improbable. Women's rights, gay rights, abortion and euthanasia had been generally accepted. In his 1995 book De verweesde samenleving ("The orphaned society"), Fortuyn claimed that the progressive movement of the 1960s had eroded traditional norms and values. Both the roles of the "symbolic father" and the "caring mother" had been lost, leaving an orphaned population without guidance, to live out a meaningless decadent existence. However, he did not propose a return to the old value system. Media, schools and artists should provide a moral leadership, explicitly promoting and defending the new values of modern Western society, constantly recreating the Dutch identity.
Adopting the philosophical analysis by Carl Schmitt, it was assumed that such an identity could only be defined in antithesis to some actually existing concrete enemy. Inspired by Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations, Dutch ethnicity was to be re-invented by identifying that enemy as Islam. In his 1997 book Tegen de islamisering van onze cultuur ("Against the islamisation of our culture"), Fortuyn proposed that after the fall of communism a new adversary and thereby a collective destiny had to be found in a deliberate confrontation with Muslim culture. Fortuyn explained the global fundamentalist wave of the 1990s as a backlash against the insecurities caused by globalisation. The Dutch should counter Islamic fundamentalism by promoting and defending their own fundament, Dutch culture, especially modernism and the Enlightenment values. These should not yet be imposed on the Dutch population as a whole, with the exception of immigrants.
Whereas American neoconservatives promoted hard power policies in relation to the Muslim world, Dutch neocons favoured a soft power approach. Shortly before the September 11 attacks, Fortuyn in a column called for a Cold War against Islam, meaning a non-military defensive enmity. The attacks and the War on Terror for the first time made Islam a main issue in Dutch politics. Until 1989 a member of the social-democratic Labour Party, and later of the VVD, Fortuyn because of his known anti-Islamic stance was by Jan Nagel invited to become the front runner of the newly formed anti-establishment Livable Netherlands party. He was elected "lijsttrekker"  by a large majority of the party members on 26 November 2001, prior to the Dutch general election of 2002. In the campaign he attacked the mainstream policies on multiculturalism, immigration and crime, and the perceived domination of politics and the media by a "left-wing church."
On 9 February 2002, he was interviewed by the Volkskran
Pim Fortuyn