From `Knowledge Is Power´ to `Power Is Knowledge´? on the Transformation of Professionalism in the Era of Polycrisis

Based on a brief reconstruction of the sociology of professions discourse and current tendencies in the area of professional work the paper is led by the argument, that the development throughout the last two to three decades has been characterized by reinforced liberalization against an anachronistic understanding and institutionalization of established professionalism. Professional work has been therefore exemplary for the ambivalences of liberalization and the new constraints of economization within the era of neoliberalism. While questioning the authority of the established professions has once been associated with the hope for democratization and overcoming paternalism, actually the power relations in the field of professional work did not diminish during the last decades. Obviously, the concept of monopolizing societally relevant knowledge fell into crisis, but therefore control over the means of production of information and knowledge, and in particular the new gatekeeper of financialized capitalism, gained in importance. Illustrated by empirical examples from different professional fields such as medicine, journalism and the public service sector, a reversal of the nexus between knowledge and power will be discussed.