In this article, we argue that basic social policy concepts can fertilise the discussion on active labour market policy (ALMP). During the last decades, research on ALMP has become a flourishing field. This is an overall positive development. However, the development tends to fractionate the wider picture of social policy and distance the discussion from social policy seen as a multifold set of government measures that have a direct impact on the welfare of the citizens, by providing services and/or income. We analyse a local ALMP programme in the light of three classical social policy concepts: universalism, selectivism and need. To understand what is going on in ALMP programmes, we argue that it is as important to uncover claims made by the state as it is to satisfy the human needs most often presented as the objectives of ALMP programmes. We propose that the programme under study be characterised as a hybrid, combining elements frequently perceived as dichotomies in social policy literature. Selectivism and universalism are both present as principles and the programme consists of benefits in cash and in kind.

中文翻译：

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个人需求和社会要求：挑战对社会政策中普遍主义与选择性主义的理解

在本文中，我们认为基本的社会政策概念可以促进对积极劳动力市场政策 (ALMP) 的讨论。在过去的几十年里，ALMP 的研究已经成为一个蓬勃发展的领域。这是一个整体的积极发展。然而，发展趋向于分割社会政策的更广泛图景，并使社会政策的讨论与被视为通过提供服务和/或收入直接影响公民福利的多方面政府措施相分离。我们根据三个经典的社会政策概念来分析当地的 ALMP 计划：普遍主义、选择性主义和需求。为了理解 ALMP 计划中发生的事情，我们认为，揭露国家提出的要求与满足最常见的人类需求一样重要，这也是 ALMP 计划的目标。我们建议将所研究的项目描述为混合的，结合了社会政策文献中经常被认为是二分法的元素。选择性主义和普遍主义都作为原则存在，该计划包括现金和实物福利。