Sociological imperialism and the profession of medicine A critical examination of the thesis of medical imperialism

The thesis of medical imperialism is part of a more general sociological analysis of professional ambition—an analysis which can, in its turn, also be applied to sociology. Doing so provides a more satisfactory theory of professional change, one which explains the appeal of both conservatism and radicalism at different points in a profession's trajectory. Applying this to medical sociology, it is argued that current critiques of medical expansion, although containing much that is of value, are in some places misleading of exaggerated, for this young discipline and its ally, public health, have a vested interest in the diminution of the present form of the medical empire. Moreover the social model of health which they themselves prefer is in some ways a better vehicle for medical imperialism than the much abused "medical model".