Better Homes for Negro Families in the South

Abstract

A negative aspect of the cult of the average man has been the resistance of Americans to the development of expertness, especially in public service. But the more complex a society grows, the greater its need for specialization. Folk controls no longer work in such a situation. American society has developed to a unique degree professionalization for the self-policing of groups with highly specialized skills and attitudes, and for the protecting of the public welfare against a group's own private interests. Ordinary people need to understand their position in relation to the professionals whose services they increasingly employ. Social workers have gone far in the democratization of the professionalclient relationship. They have realized, too, the desirability of making clear to their employers just what the possibilities and the limits of such service are. The client of a social agency ought, by that very fact, to understand better the importance of professionalism in our society and to be better. able to make constructive use of experts in other fields.