professional association
An industry association is a congregation of companies feigning solidarity to collectively guard privileged interests under the guise of mutual benefit. Its members unabashedly lobby for deregulation while insisting everyone else adhere to stringent standards except when an exemption suits their own bottom line. Ostensibly dedicated to the common good, it is in reality a quiet battlefield of power plays and membership dues. Official statements sparkle with pompous platitudes, while consensus is merely the outcome of majority rule wrapped in ceremonial formality.