Letters.

Protecting the Profession

While admitting the value of our profession's taking account of the knowledge and insights of the social sciences in general, and organizational theory and practice in particular, it seems to me that any organized effort to change the rules of professional conduct to accommodate the commingling of the legal and accounting professions should be treated with great suspicion. I read the Pro-MDP report (March) first, so the "commingling" metaphor occurred to me long before I read the Con-MDP one, as did the thought that the Pro's underlying philosophy was the "end of history" economic determinism driving similar efforts to commingle the banking, securities, and insurance businesses. Consequently, I found it ironic to read in the Pro report, in the midst of a sweeping torrent of purported revolutionary changes affecting every aspect of our profession and indeed the whole of life, the statement that among the business, societal, and market forces shaping our future and the end of borders, "established economic theories no longer apply"--except neoclassical economic determinism I presume!

The most significant and real life statement in both...