Technical discourse as a ‘threat to civility’ In the context of the competing frameworks of a society in transformation such as South Africa, the controlling ideology inherent in a technical professional discourse with its demand for a monopoly (Evans 2003, in Gilbert, 2004a, above) poses what Evetts terms ‘a threat to civility’ (Evetts, 2006, p. 137). Such a technical, monopolistic discourse vis-a`-vis the person seeking assistance appears, for example, in the way South African pharmacy positions itself as a profession. The following extract from Good Pharmacy Practice in South Africa (the guide to professional pharmacy practice published by the SAPC), provides what the SAPC presents as its ‘underlying philosophy’3 :