The scholar as artisan

In an age when there are increasing pressures on social scientists to produce knowledge that is directly relevant for dealing with problems confronting societies, it is useful to look at the scholar as an artisan. A producer-consumer relationship can then be identified. In such a relationship the kind of protection that consumers have under modern commercial codes for ordinary products should also protect them when they purchase the products of social scientists. While such protection is reasonable, it is not reasonable to have the state enforce the warranties. This might destroy the independent academy. The professoriate collectively must enforce the warranties in a guild-like manner.This essay is a revised version of a paper presented at a seminar sponsored by the International Studies Association at the Villa Serbelloni, Italy, in August–September 1971.