Prospects for the Professions in China

Professionals are a growing group in China and increasingly make their presence felt in governance and civil society. At the same time, however, professionals in the West are under increasing pressure from commercialism or scepticism about their ability to rise above self-interest.

This book focuses on professionals in China and asks whether developing countries have a fateful choice: to embrace Western models of professional organization as they now exist, or to set off on an independent path, adapting elements of Western practices to their own historical and cultural situation. In doing so, the authors in this volume discuss a wealth of issues, including: the historic antecedents of modern Chinese professionalism; the implications of professionalism as an import in China; the impact of socialism, the developmental state and rampant commercialism on the professions in China; and the feasibility of liberal professions in an illiberal state. To conclude, the book considers whether there might be an emerging professionalism with Chinese characteristics, and how this might have an impact on the professions elsewhere.

Prospects for the Professions in China will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese Studies, law, sociology, medical studies and cultural studies.

William P Alford is Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law, Vice Dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies and Director of East Asian Legal studies at Harvard University

Kenneth Winston is Lecturer in Ethics and Faculty Chair of the Singapore Program at Harvard University

William C. Kirby is the Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at Harvard University. He is a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. He serves as Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and Chairman of the Harvard China Fund