Regulated professions and professional councils: An analysis in the light of liberal doctrinal teaching

Abstract

Objective: This paper proposes a more in-depth approach to the issue of regulated professions and professional councils, based on political, legal, and philosophical-economic arguments, seeking to demonstrate that less professional regulation leads to higher quality and safety in service provision and not the other way around, as usually boasted. Methodology: The paper was structured through qualitative and quantitative research, crossed with data analysis from national and international indexation systems. That reasoning is subjected, through inductive reasoning, to both a historical perspective and a contemporary one. Results: It was possible to determine that the optimal regulation standard is a slight regulated one, and through its careful use, it is possible to gather advantages for society rather than the actual harmful excess of regulation predominant in Brazil. Contributions: Among some of the oldest debates in Western civilization, the so-called liberal is the constant friction between individual freedoms and state intervention. One of the areas in which this friction is naturally more intense is in the professional field. In Brazil, the discussion was resumed after the presentation of a constitutional amendment that intends to prevent regulatory excess as well as remove from the State the responsibility to coordinate and control professional activities. This paper intends to shed some light and provide grounds in this relevant subject.