The planning profession

Abstract

The establishment of a new institution or society is an important event in the life and history of a discipline - and indeed of a country. It is important in many senses, not least in that enunciated by the renowned Alexis de Tocqueville in his treatise on 19th century American democracy. De Tocqueville put the proposition that a striking feature of the American people was their ability to form voluntary associations to realize their collective aims - not to leave everything to the authorities. This stems from a tradition in which government is not the only, or even the most important, instrument of social action, and is congruent with the long-standing proposition that individuals can form communities but only institutions can form a nation. Perhaps we should remember Lord Butler’s words: ‘Society in the future may become progressively intolerant of voluntary professional institutions especially if they are the bulwark of private practice, and yet be oblivious to the truth that in these institutions reside a most precious liberty essential to the health of a civilised society’.