Guild

A guild is an association of people of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of morality or conduct. Historically they were benefit societies or small business associations, since each crafter was a self-employed individual artisan or part of a small craft shop or co-operative. They exist in modern and medieval incarnations, both of which are discussed in this article. One's view of guilds tends to be heavily colored by one's view of political economy, since the whole history of trade, technology, intellectual property, regulated professions, social security, and professional ethics are entwined with the history of the guilds in Europe.

Modern guilds

Modern guilds exist in different forms around the world. In many European countries guilds have had a revival as local organisations for craftsmen, primarily in traditional skills. They may function as fora for developing competence and are often the local units of a national employers organization. In the United States guilds tend to exist in fields where, like the medieval warraqeen, a very strong and rigid system of intellectual property respect exists in one industry: the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America, for instance, are capable of exercising very strong control in Hollywood, and excluding other actors and writers who do not abide by the strict rules for competing within the film and television industry in America.

Related Topics:
United States - Screen Actors Guild - Writers Guild of America - Hollywood

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Thomas Malone of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology champions a modern variant of the guild structure for modern "e-lancers", professionals who do mostly telework for multiple employers. Insurance including any professional liability, intellectual capital protections, an ethical code perhaps enforced by peer pressure and software, and other benefits of a strong association of producers of knowledge, benefit from economies of scale, and may prevent cut-throat competition that leads to inferior services undercutting prices. And, as with historical guilds, resist foreign competition.

Related Topics:
Thomas Malone - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Telework - Insurance - Professional liability - Intellectual capital - Ethical code - Economies of scale

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The free software community has from time to time explored a guild-like structure to unite against competition from Microsoft, e.g. Advogato assigns journeyer and master ranks to those committing to work only or mostly on free software. Debian also publishes a list of what constitutes free software.

Related Topics:
Free software - Microsoft - Advogato - Debian

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In the City of London, the ancient guilds survive as Livery Companies, most of which play a ceremonial role.

Related Topics:
City of London - Livery Companies

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