ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how professions and professional conduct have been analyzed and described - by the professionals themselves and by outside scholars. Prescriptions about what professional conduct ought to be are logically distinct from descriptions, because they require a decision and commitment to achieve particular values and purposes. In the history of professionalism in England, the authors traced the development of professional training and the testing of professional competence. The idea of professionals being part of a professional community and culture which is of great significance to them has received considerable attention. The mid-Victorians cultivated a new vertical vision of individual fulfillment through the pursuit of the professional career. The rise of professionalism was also seen as a threat to democracy, because of its beliefs that citizens, like consumers, were incompetent to make important decisions affecting their lives. In modern economic system a large proportion of the population is dependent for their livelihood upon selling their labour to an employer.
