Penguin Books The Theory of the Leisure Class 有閒階級論

“As a child, Veblen was a notorious tease, and an inveterate inventor of malicious nicknames. As an adult, Veblen developed this aptitude into the abusive category and the cutting analogy. In this volume [The Theory of the Leisure Class] the most striking categories are four in number: [i] Conspicuous Consumption, [ii] Vicarious Consumption, [iii] Conspicuous Leisure, and [iv] Conspicuous Waste. It is amazing what a very large proportion of social activity, higher education, devout observance, and upper-class consumer goods seemed to fit snugly into one, or another, of these classifications.” — Robert Lekachman, Introduction to The Theory of the Leisure Class

 

The classic of sociology and economics was originally published in 1899. Thorstein Veblen challenges some of society's most cherished standards of behavior and, with devastating wit and satire, exposes the hollowness of many of our canons of taste, education, dress, and culture. Almost a century after its original publication, his work is as fresh and relevant as ever. Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class is in the tradition of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, yet it provides a surprisingly contemporary look at American economics and society.

 

Veblen discusses how the pursuit and possession of wealth affects human behavior. The contemporary lords of the manor, the businessmen who own the means of production, have employed themselves in the economically unproductive practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure, which are useless activities that contribute neither to the economy nor to the material production of the useful goods and services required for the functioning of society. Instead, it is the middle class and working class who are usefully employed in the industrialised, productive occupations that support the whole of society.

 

By using the leisure class as his example, because it is this class that sets the standards followed by every level of society. The sign of membership in the leisure class is exemption from industrial toil, and the mark of success is lavish expenditure. Establishing terms such as "conspicuous consumption" and "pecuniary emulation," his theory has become an archetype not only of economic theory, but of historical and sociological thought as well. As sociologist Alan Wolfe writes in his Introduction, Veblen "skillfully . . . wrote a book that will be read so long as the rich are different from the rest of us; which, if the future is anything like the past, they always will be." 

 

During America’s Gilded Age, The Theory of the Leisure Class was written as a reminder that all that glisters is not gold. Veblen highlighted traits of the waning landed class of Americans and showed how the new moneyed class was adopting them in ways that led to greater waste throughout society. He defined conspicuous leisure and conspicuous consumption and developed a critique of a system that favored profits for owners without regard for social good. The Theory of the Leisure Class's socio-economic theory emphasizes social evolution and development as characteristics of human institutions, and Veblen's ideas influenced the New Deal of the 1930s.

 

Features

• Edition : -
• Binding : Paperback
• ISBN : 9780140187953
• Publication Date : 1994/2/1

 

Materials & Care

• Imported