Professional Power and Self-Regulation

By any reasonable concept of professional and by almost any standard of having power or control, professionals possess significant power in North American society. Indeed, the power and influence of professionals collec tively over people's everyday lives may well exceed that of any ancient despot. Despite this, by and large professions are left to control themselves. One reason is that professionals have traditionally claimed and been perceived to be acting in the interests of their clients or others they directly affect. Is it sheer myopia or stupidity for society to leave such power in the hands of self regulated professions? What is the justification, if any, for this power? What are the reasonable limits to it? In what areas and to what extent should professionals be self-regulating? This paper addresses these broad questions and sketches some answers.