Personal control. The importance to society of personal control

Large swathes of the public are very insecure and feel they have limited control of their lives. In this report, the WRR demonstrates that the combination of insecurity and a lack of control can lead to poorer health, is a source of societal unease and is associated with perceptions and convictions that may be at odds with the democratic state under the rule of law.

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The key message of the report therefore is that, when making and implementing policies, the government should put more effort into strengthening the personal control that members of the public have. By this we mean people’s ability to influence what they are looking for in life, such as having a job they enjoy, earning enough income or having a good living environment.

With this report, the WRR invites policymakers to consider policy from a personal control point of view: how can the government give citizens greater personal control so that they can take steps towards achieving their life goals?