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Veblen has been claimed and rejected both by sociologists and economists as being one of theirs. He enriched and attacked both disciplines, as he did so many others: philosophy, history, social psychology, politics, and linguistics. Because he took all knowledge as necessary and relevant to adequate understanding, Veblen was a holistic analyst of the social process. First published in 1904, this classic analysis of the U.S. economy has enduring value today. In it, Veblen posited a theory of business fluctuations and economic growth which included chronic depression and inflation. He predicted the socioeconomic changes that would occur as a result: militarism, imperialism, fascism, consumerism, and the development of the mass media as well as the corporate bureaucracy. Douglas Dowd's introduction places the volume within the traditions of both macroeconomics and microeconomics, tracing Veblen's place among social thinkers, and the place of this volume in the body of his work.… (more)
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Published in 1904, the book expands the author’s view that business organization was incompatible with making money. The
Personally, I have grown tired of hearing today’s executives call for a renewal of a corporate entrepreneurial spirit. Meanwhile, their employment contracts guarantee bonuses keyed to meaningless metrics, access to one or more corporate jets, gross-ups and “uber”-luxury car leases. Their rhetoric sounds as short-sighted as Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake.”
Coining the phrase “conspicuous consumer,” Veblen revealed the roots of these excesses more than a century ago. Writing about the robber barons of his day, he ravaged the greed and corporate malfeasance in his books.
Educated at Carleton College, Johns Hopkins University and Yale University had a short teaching career as a lecturer at the University of Missouri and a subsidized position at the New School for Social Research.
Veblen's reputation reached its pinnacle during The Great Depression. Often viewed as a political radical or socialist, Veblen committed himself to any form of political action.
Eerily relevant today, “The Theory of Business Enterprise” earned him a deserved reputation as a social critic that extends far beyond his limited academic roots.