The Professions and Social Structure

TLDR: A study of the social structures of the most important civilizations shows that the professions occupy a position of importance in our society which is, in any comparable degree of development, unique in history as discussed by the authors.

Abstract: C OMPARATIVE study of the social structures of the most important civilizations shows that the professions occupy a position of importance in our society which is, in any comparable degree of development, unique in history. Perhaps the closest parallel is the society of the Roman Empire where, notably, the Law was very highly developed as a profession indeed. But even there the professions covered a far narrower scope than in the modern Western world. There is probably in Rome no case of a particular profession more highly developed than in our own society, and there was scarcely a close analogy to modern engineering, medicine or education in quantitative importance, though all of them were developed to a considerable degree. It seems evident that many of the most important features of our society are to a considerable extent dependent on the smooth functioning of the professions. Both the pursuit and the application of science and liberal learning are predominantly carried out in a professional context. Their results have become so closely interwoven in the fabric of modern society that it is difficult to imagine how it could get along without basic structural changes if they were seriously impaired. There is a tendency to think of the development and application of science and learning as a socially unproblematical process. A vague sort of "curiosity" and beyond that mere possession of the requisite knowledge are held to be enough. This is evidenced by the air of indignant wonder with which technologically minded people sometimes cite the fact that actual technical performance is well below the theoretical potentialities of Ioo percent efficiency. Only by extensive comparative study does it become evident that for even a moderate degree either of the development or the application of science there is requisite a complex set of social conditions which the "technologically minded" seldom think of, but incline to take for granted as in the nature of things. Study of the institutional framework within which professional activities are carried on should help considerably to understand the nature and functions of some of these social "constants. " The professions do not, however, stand alone as typical or distinctive features of modern Western civilization. Indeed, if asked what were the most distinctive * A paper read at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Society held at Detroit, Michigan, December, 1938.