Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929)
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Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was a person.
- See: Economist, Historian, Institutional Economics, Veblenian Dichotomy, Conspicuous Leisure, The Theory of The Leisure Class, Leisure Class, History of Economic Thought, Institutional Economics, Conspicuous Consumption, State Ownership, Marxism, Socialism, Anarchism, Progressive Era, Evolutionary Economics.
References
2014
- (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorstein_Veblen Retrieved:2014-9-24.
- Thorstein Bunde Veblen (born Torsten Bunde Veblen; July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was an American economist and sociologist, and leader of the institutional economics movement. The main technical principle employed by institutional economists, credited to Veblen, is known as the Veblenian dichotomy. It is a distinction between what Veblen called "institutions" and "technology." [1] Besides his technical work he was a popular and witty critic of capitalism, as shown by his best-known book The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). Veblen is famous in the history of economic thought for combining a Darwinian evolutionary perspective with his new institutionalist approach to economic analysis. He combined sociology with economics in his masterpiece The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) where he argued that there was a fundamental split in society between those who make their way via exploit and those who make their way via industry. In early barbarian society this is the difference between the hunter and the gatherer in the tribe, but as society matures it is the difference between the landed gentry and the indentured servant. In society's progressively modernized forms, those with the power to exploit are known as the "leisure class", which is defined by its lack of productive economic activity and its commitment to demonstrations of idleness. As Veblen describes it, as societies mature, conspicuous leisure gives way to “conspicuous consumption", but both are performed for the sole purpose of making an invidious distinction based on pecuniary strength, the demonstration of wealth being the basis for social status. Veblen was sympathetic to state ownership of industry, however, he did not support labor movements of the time. There is disagreement about the extent to which his views are compatible with Marxism, [2] socialism or anarchism. Veblen believed that technological developments would eventually lead to a socialist organization of economic affairs. Veblen's views on socialism and the nature of the evolutionary process of economics differed sharply from that of Karl Marx. While Marx saw socialism as the final political precursor to communism, or the ultimate goal for civilization, and believed that the working class would be the group to establish it, Veblen saw socialism as one intermediate phase in an ongoing evolutionary process in society that would be brought about by the natural decay of the business enterprise system and by the inventiveness of engineers.
As a leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he made sweeping attacks on production for profit, and his stress on the wasteful role of consumption for status greatly influenced socialist thinkers and engineers who sought a non-Marxist critique of capitalism.
- Thorstein Bunde Veblen (born Torsten Bunde Veblen; July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was an American economist and sociologist, and leader of the institutional economics movement. The main technical principle employed by institutional economists, credited to Veblen, is known as the Veblenian dichotomy. It is a distinction between what Veblen called "institutions" and "technology." [1] Besides his technical work he was a popular and witty critic of capitalism, as shown by his best-known book The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). Veblen is famous in the history of economic thought for combining a Darwinian evolutionary perspective with his new institutionalist approach to economic analysis. He combined sociology with economics in his masterpiece The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) where he argued that there was a fundamental split in society between those who make their way via exploit and those who make their way via industry. In early barbarian society this is the difference between the hunter and the gatherer in the tribe, but as society matures it is the difference between the landed gentry and the indentured servant. In society's progressively modernized forms, those with the power to exploit are known as the "leisure class", which is defined by its lack of productive economic activity and its commitment to demonstrations of idleness. As Veblen describes it, as societies mature, conspicuous leisure gives way to “conspicuous consumption", but both are performed for the sole purpose of making an invidious distinction based on pecuniary strength, the demonstration of wealth being the basis for social status. Veblen was sympathetic to state ownership of industry, however, he did not support labor movements of the time. There is disagreement about the extent to which his views are compatible with Marxism, [2] socialism or anarchism. Veblen believed that technological developments would eventually lead to a socialist organization of economic affairs. Veblen's views on socialism and the nature of the evolutionary process of economics differed sharply from that of Karl Marx. While Marx saw socialism as the final political precursor to communism, or the ultimate goal for civilization, and believed that the working class would be the group to establish it, Veblen saw socialism as one intermediate phase in an ongoing evolutionary process in society that would be brought about by the natural decay of the business enterprise system and by the inventiveness of engineers.
- ↑ William T. Waller Jr. “The Evolution of the Veblenian Dichotomy," Journal of Economic Issues 16, 3 (Sept. 1982): 757-71
- ↑ History of Political Economy 1982 14(3): 323–341; DOI:10.1215/00182702-14-3-323
1899
- (Veblen, 1899) ⇒ Thorstein Veblen. (1899). “The Theory of the Leisure Class." Cosimo Classics. ISBN:9781602061804