Death of the Guilds: Professions, States, and the Advance of Capitalism, 1930 to the Present [Paperback] Krause, Elliott A.

Elliott A. Krause traces how professions like medicine, law, and engineering — once powerful, self-regulating guilds — got systematically dismantled by corporate and state interests over the past century. This isn't dry theory. It's a clear-eyed look at how doctors became employees, lawyers became commodities, and the professional class lost its autonomy to capitalism's relentless expansion. Krause compares systems across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and Italy, showing how different political structures either protected or obliterated professional power. Published by Yale, this is serious sociology with real stakes: understanding why your lawyer works for a megafirm and your doctor answers to an insurance algorithm. Dense but lucid. For anyone asking why professional work feels increasingly corporate, alienated, or stripped of meaning.