Synopses & Reviews
Thorstein Veblen is a key figure in early twentieth-century American intellectual history. Variously described as a 'revolutionary iconoclast', 'the father of technocracy' and 'the best critic of America that America has produced', his work is frequently compared with that of Marx, Durkheim and Weber for its breadth and insight. This study sets Veblen's work in its social and intellectual context, delineating its main concepts and tensions, and re-establishing the extent of his influence. In the process, Spindler evaluates the usefulness and the limitations of Veblen's views for an understanding of American culture by considering Veblen not just as an economist or a sociologist--as has been the case up to now--but as a seminal analyst and critic of modern American culture, whose influence and importance has been underplayed and whose radicalism has been blunted by postwar commentators.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 166-172) and index.
Synopsis
EvaluatesVeblen not just as an economist or a sociologist but as a seminal critic of modern American culture.
Synopsis
... brilliantly original ... brings cultural and post-colonial theory to bear on a wide range of authors with great skill and sensitivity.' Terry Eagleton
About the Author
Michael Spindler teaches American Literature and Creative Writing at De Montfort University, Bedford. He is the author of American Literature and Social Change: William Dean Howells to Arthur Miller (Palgrave, 1984), and numerous articles and essays on aspects of American Studies.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1: Veblen In His Time
2: The Early Work
3: The Later Work
4:Veblen's Reception
5: Veblen And Consumerism
6: Veblen And Modern American Fiction
Conclusion
References
Bibliography
Index