Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929)

This chapter takes up Thorstein Veblen’s theories of the leisure class, conspicuous consumption, conspicuous leisure, pecuniary culture and evolution. Veblen was a strong critic of neoclassical economics, its equilibrium methodology and its teleological thinking. He also critiqued capitalism because it produced monopoly, unemployment, business cycles, conspicuous consumption and conspicuous waste. He criticized the business (or leisure) classes for their predatory mentality, their pecuniary culture, making profits rather than goods, indulging in conspicuous consumption and shirking workmanship. He hoped that the engineers, who epitomized the instinct of workmanship and understood the machine process well, will take over the system for the general public good. The twin wastes of unemployment and conspicuous consumption would then be avoided. The economy will be abundantly supplied with goods and business interests would be subordinated to the common good. Though Veblen was influenced by utopian socialist ideas and was impressed by the logical consistency of the Marxian system, he criticized Marx for postulating a final term in the form of socialism. For Veblen socialism is not inevitable since the Darwinian evolution has no final term. Moreover, the workers are unlikely to join the class struggle as they are more likely to emulate the consumption habits of the leisure class in a race to be one up.