Professionalism

University of Chicago Press

2001

viii, 250 p.

Bibliogr.: p. 223–246

9780226262024

Contents: Professionalism: The Ideal Type ; Professional Knowledge and Skill ; Divisions of Labor ; Labor Markets and Careers ; Training Programs ; Ideologies ; The Contingencies of Professionalism ; States and Associations ; Bodies of Knowledge ; The Fate of Specialized Knowledge ; The Assault on Professionalism ; The Soul of Professionalism

This new work explores the meaning and implications of professionalism as a form of social organization. Eliot Freidson formalizes professionalism by treating it as an ideal type grounded in the political economy he presents the concept as a third logic, or a more viable alternative to consumerism and bureaucracy. He asks us to imagine a world where workers with specialized knowledge and the ability to provide society with especially important services can organize and control their own work, without directives from management or the influence of free markets. Freidson then appraises the present status of professionalism, exploring how traditional and national variations in state policy and organization are influencing the power and practice of such professions as medicine and law. Widespread attacks by neoclassical economists and populists, he contends, are obscuring the social value of credentialism and monopolies.

Английский