CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTION IN THE THEORY AND DISCOURSE OF DEPENDENCE

The terms “dependence” and “independence” have historically been used as status makers in social and political discourse in the United States. As various groups and individuals have pursued particular political goals, they have used and defined those terms in diverse ways and attached different meanings and connotations to them. The category of “dependent” in particular has been transformed from a term that at one time marked a natural condition in which certain groups existed, to a term that today defines a social problem. This article describes the content of, and the reasons for this transformation. The author concentrates upon dependency discourse as it has been used in shaping welfare reform and in the treatment of poor people in the United States. The author considers influences of individual autonomy, and social covenants. The article concludes that the categorization of “dependent” and “independent” is too ambiguous and similarly, the conceptions about which individuals and classes of people are “dependent” have changed over time

Testing times: in-house counsel and independence

Independence has long been seen as a key to ethical lawyering. It is associated with improving the quality of legal work, and promoting advice that aligns the client's interests with the 'set of general social norms'. It is seen as so important that it 'defines the lawyer as a professional'. Yet lawyers' independence also presents some difficulties. Despite the exhortations in its favour over many years, the term remains vague and under-developed. Without a clear concept of what is being sought, it is difficult to ascertain what value can be given to it, and what techniques of regulation can be used to encourage it. The process becomes a fairly unproductive one of examining lawyers for traits of independence and failing to find any. This has led more than one commentator to doubt the value of independence as a way of considering legal practiceSuzanne Le Mirehttp://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=244925702612925;res=IELHS