Synopses & Reviews
Classic sociology and economics, originally published in 1899, from "the best critic of America that America has produced."C. Wright Mills.
Synopsis
A classic of sociology and economics, originally published in 1899
With exquisite irony, Veblen, the "best critic of America that America has produced" (C. Wright Mills), lays bare the hollowness of our canons of taste and culture.
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About the Author
Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was a Norwegian-American sociologist and economist and a leader of the Efficiency Movement. In 1919, Veblen, along with Charles Beard, James Harvey Robinson and John Dewey, helped found the New School for Social Research (known today as New School University).
Robert Lekachman was a professor of economics at Lehman College, City University of New York, and is the author of The Age of Keynes and Capitalism for Beginners.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Robert Lekachman
Preface
Chapter I: Introductory
Chapter II: Pecuniary Emulation
Chapter III: Conspicuous Leisure
Chapter IV: Conspicuous Consumption
Chapter V: The Pecuniary Standards of Living
Chapter VI: Pecuniary Canons of Taste
Chapter VII: Dress as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture
Chapter VIII: Industrial Exemption and Conservatism
Chapter IX: The Conservation of Archaic Traits
Chapter X: Modern Survivals of Prowess
Chapter XI: The Belief in Luck
Chapter XII: Devout Observances
Chapter XIII: Survivals of the Non-Invidious Interest
Chapter XIV: The Higher Learning as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture