Abstract
This chapter focuses on the development of the sociological study of the professions and professional regulation. It discusses how during the first part of the twentieth century functionalist sociologists focused on the altruistic ethos which arguably underpins professional occupations such as law and medicine. Here, the chapter notes how possession of a socially valued esoteric form of expertise allows certain occupational groups to obtain a legally underwritten state-endorsed monopoly over entry into an occupation and the standards by which both neophyte and more seasoned practitioners are judged. Certainly, early commentators recognised the important role played by the possession of specialist expertise in both enabling occupational control of the practitioner-client relationship and establishing state-endorsed formal self-regulatory systems for entry, training and exit from a profession. Yet they also acknowledged the key role played in legitimising occupational claims to professional status by the apparent willingness of certain groups to use their esoteric knowledge for the benefit of others. After exploring the impact of this focus on occupational altruism for the study of professional power, this chapter outlines how in the latter half of the twentieth century sociologists began to question the altruistic claims by professional groups as well as explore in more critical detail the relationship between professional occupations such as medicine and the modern state. Here, the chapter outlines the emergent neo-Weberian, neo-Marxist and feminist critiques of medical autonomy and altruism which emerged during the 1970s and 1980s. In doing so, this chapter provides a basis from which Chap. 5 traces subsequent developments in the sociological study of the professions and medical self-regulation, including, most importantly, the emergence of the Foucauldian governmentality perspective alongside the contemporary emergence of managerial and lay challenges to medicine. End-of-chapter self-study tasks are provided so the reader can engage in further study in relation to chapter contents.
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Chamberlain, J.M. (2012). Sociological Deconstructions I: Critiquing Medical Autonomy and Altruism. In: The Sociology of Medical Regulation. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4896-5_4
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