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Quote by Thorstein Veblen

“The basis on which good repute in any highly organized industrial community ultimately rests is pecuniary strength; and the means of showing pecuniary strength, and so of gaining or retaining a good name, are leisure and a conspicuous consumption of goods.”

Book:THE THEORY OF THE LEISURE CLASS: An Economic Study of American Institutions and a Social Critique of Conspicuous Consumption: Development of Institutions That Shape Society and Influence the Livelihood of Citizens: Based on Sociological & Economical Theories of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer

Work

THE THEORY OF THE LEISURE CLASS: An Economic Study of American Institutions and a Social Critique of Conspicuous Consumption: Development of Institutions That Shape Society and Influence the Livelihood of Citizens: Based on Sociological & Economical Theories of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer

The Theory of the Leisure Class is a comprehensive economic analysis that examines the social and economic structures of the United States. It delves into the concept of conspicuous consumption and its role in shaping societal institutions. The book integrates sociological and economical theories from prominent thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, and Herbert Spencer to provide a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing the livelihood of citizens. It serves as a critical examination of the economic and social dynamics at play in American society. more

Author

Thorstein Veblen

Thorstein Veblen was an American economist known for his sociological perspective on economics and his critical analysis of economic theories. His work, 'The Theory of the Leisure Class,' had a profound impact on later economics and sociology. more

“With the exception of the instinct of self-preservation, the propensity for emulation is probably the strongest and most alert and persistent of the economic motives proper. In an industrial community this propensity for emulation expresses itself in pecuniary emulation; and this, so far as regards the Western civilized communities of the present, is virtually equivalent to saying that it expresses itself in some form of conspicuous waste.”