Social policy in Sweden has evolved along two lines, one marginal and the other institutional. A work ethic that stems from the pre‐Christian era is a factor in both these traditions, above all in the marginal model. The marginal line, with social services aimed at the indivual, has traditionally focused on the coercion of deviants, a tendency that was manifest in the statutory provisions up to the reform of the social services in 1982. Rigorous regulations based on domiciliary right meant that poor relief and social assistance were largely reserved for the settled population. A primary aim of the social services reform of 1982 was to replace the existing social relief, with its heavy emphasis on control, by a system of social services that would be voluntary in principle and aimed at catering to the client. Coercive measures became less frequent initially, but the element of repression soon grew again at a time when the economic climate was becoming harsher. Since the beginning of the 1980s there has been a further increase in repression in both social welfare and correctional care. This has been accompanied by significant tendencies to move away from an institutional social policy towards a marginal line. The shifts in values in the 1980s and 1990s do not represent a traditional right‐left dichotomy.