Well-being as a political asset: Public acceptance of post-growth policies and its association with basic need satisfaction

Understanding public support for policies aimed at securing human well-being within planetary boundaries is crucial for socio-ecological transitions. This study contributes novel evidence on how policy instruments are associated with basic need satisfaction and with citizens’ political support intentions. Little is known about how citizens evaluate policy instruments in terms of personal basic need satisfaction, voting intentions, and collective mobilization. In an online survey with Swiss citizens (N = 587), we examine how seven expert-identified policies discussed in post-growth scholarship are perceived in terms of expected impacts on one's own basic need satisfaction, intentions of voting “yes” in a national referendum, and reported likelihoods to take active protest actions to support or oppose their implementation. On average, the respondents expect positive impacts on the satisfaction of their basic needs from the seven policy instruments. These positive expectations are, in turn, strongly linked to higher intentions to vote in favor of the policies and a higher reported protest likelihood to support implementation. Climate worry and left-leaning political orientation are also positively associated with these outcomes, but to a lesser extent. Our findings suggest that transition strategies may be more politically feasible when policy packages include visible, need-enhancing measures and when policy communication credibly connects ecological goals to everyday well-being. [This is a preprint—the study has not yet been peer-reviewed]