Professionalism

Eliot Freidson has written the first systematic account ofprofessionalism as a method of organizing work. In ideal-typicalprofessionalism, specialized workers control their own work, whilein the free market consumers are in command, and in bureaucracymanagers dominate. Freidson shows how each method has its own logicrequiring different kinds of knowledge, organization, career,education and ideology. He also discusses how historic and nationalvariations in state policy, professional organization, and forms ofpractice influence the strength of professionalism.
In appraising the embattled position of professions today, Freidsonconcludes that ideologically inspired attacks pose less danger toprofessionals' institutional privileges than to their ethicalindependence to resist use of their specialized knowledge tomaximize profit and efficiency without also providing its benefitsto all in need.
This timely and original analysis will be of great interest tothose in sociology, political science, history, business studiesand the various professions.