printNeo-Weberianism and the Professions
Saks М.
Prof. Emeritus, University of Suffolk, UK; Visiting Prof. at the University of Lincoln, the Royal Veterinary College, University of London and the University of Westminster, UK, University of Toronto, Canada m.saks@uos.ac.uk
Saks М. Neo-Weberianism and the Professions. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2020. No 6. P. 28-41
This article argues for the importance of a neo-Weberian perspective on professions. It begins by highlighting the significance of professions in the rapidly changing modern context. Much of the theoretical literature on their nature and role derives from Britain and the United States, but its relevance is now widening – not least in Europe and beyond. In terms of theories of the professions, the starting point was the 1950s/60s deferential trait and functionalist perspective on professions that took professional ideologies on trust. This taxonomic perspective was largely supplanted by symbolic interactionism and more critical theoretical approaches associated with the 1960s/70s counter culture, including Marxist, Foucauldian and discourse analyses. A brief examination of these approaches highlights the merits of a neo-Weberian approach to the professions in the contemporary context. The various contours of this market-based approach centred on exclusionary social closure deriving from the original work of Max Weber are outlined. This is followed by illustrations of how it has been applied and an examination of its own potential weaknesses – as well as the direction that future work may fruitfully take within the neo-Weberian perspective.
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