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Thorstein Veblen was once described by Fortune magazine as "America's most brilliant and influential critic of modern business and the values of a business civilization," and his wisdom and often dry, satiric wit continues to be obvious today. In The Theory of Business Enterprise, first published in 1904, he ravages corporate malfeasance and the greed that was spurring the robber barons of his day. If it all sounds familiar a century later, it's a testament to the timelessness of Veblen's criticisms of the corporate world, the wrongdoings of which today he would readily recognize. Modern readers will appreciate this reintroduction to one of the great economic thinkers. American economist and sociologist THORSTEIN BUNDE VEBLEN (1857-1929) was educated at Carleton College, Johns Hopkins University and Yale University. He coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption." Among his most famous works are The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), Imperial Germany and the Industrial Revolution (1915), and The Higher Learning in America: A Memorandum (1918).
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The material framework of modern civilization is the industrial system, and the directing force which animates this framework is business enterprise. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The material framework of modern civilization is the industrial system, and the directing force which animates this framework is business enterprise. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Most economic theory resembles medieval theology, in being increasingly irrelevant, and amounting to little more than an abstract apologia for the status quo that generates more confusion than clarity. It is thus a great relief for an inquisitive mind to discover a treatise that not only provides a solid explanation of the workings of the modern economic system, but also a thorough critique of it, as well as an acute prognosis of its future. Combining sharp perspicacity with hard logic, Professor Thorstein Veblen's 'The Theory of Business Enterprise' is unquestionably one of the finest analyses of capitalism that has ever been written.
One of Professor Veblen's key achievements is to distinguish between industry and business, and thereby between the work of those who are actually responsible for production, and the activities of those who own and manage, (or rather, mismanage) economic organizations for monetary gain. It is the interaction between these two elements - the machine process and the system of business enterprise that constitutes the key theme of the book from start to finish.
In the course of this discussion of the relation between industry and business, the author covers a number of other subjects from a perspective that is both novel and noteworthy. These include the phenomena of recessions and depressions, the role of finance in the economic system, the effect of the machine process on human society, and the complex interaction of corporate power and the State. Furthermore, Professor Veblen demonstrates many of the inadequacies of neoclassical economic theory, which, as he aptly notes, has failed to adjust to the reality of machine industry and the emergence of a credit economy. It is precisely because he studied what others chose not to see that Professor Veblen's book is, in many ways, a far better guide to the present than most contemporary economics textbooks.
Professor Veblen does not restrict his focus to economics alone; instead, as a true scholar, he goes on to explore the effects of the phenomena he identified upon society and politics. In doing so, he formulates a number of important insights, such as the disintegrating effect of machine industry on traditional customs and laws; the growth of socialism and anarchism in relation to the intensification and proliferation of the machine process; and the need for business to promote a militaristic foreign policy - and why this ends up backfiring. The professor's conclusion regarding the future of business enterprise is probably more pertinent today than it was when he wrote it.
The main drawback to this otherwise brilliant book is Professor Veblen's tendency to be prolix, and to use obscure words that, whilst precise and thus, academically rigorous, do not facilitate the reader's comprehension, (such as 'usufruct', 'interstitial', 'pecuniary exigencies', etc...) One should therefore warn in advance that this tome requires considerably more than an average degree of concentration and perseverance.
However, those men who have the intelligence and tenacity to make their way through this book will emerge with an unparalleled understanding of the world we live in.
One of Professor Veblen's key achievements is to distinguish between industry and business, and thereby between the work of those who are actually responsible for production, and the activities of those who own and manage, (or rather, mismanage) economic organizations for monetary gain. It is the interaction between these two elements - the machine process and the system of business enterprise that constitutes the key theme of the book from start to finish.
In the course of this discussion of the relation between industry and business, the author covers a number of other subjects from a perspective that is both novel and noteworthy. These include the phenomena of recessions and depressions, the role of finance in the economic system, the effect of the machine process on human society, and the complex interaction of corporate power and the State. Furthermore, Professor Veblen demonstrates many of the inadequacies of neoclassical economic theory, which, as he aptly notes, has failed to adjust to the reality of machine industry and the emergence of a credit economy. It is precisely because he studied what others chose not to see that Professor Veblen's book is, in many ways, a far better guide to the present than most contemporary economics textbooks.
Professor Veblen does not restrict his focus to economics alone; instead, as a true scholar, he goes on to explore the effects of the phenomena he identified upon society and politics. In doing so, he formulates a number of important insights, such as the disintegrating effect of machine industry on traditional customs and laws; the growth of socialism and anarchism in relation to the intensification and proliferation of the machine process; and the need for business to promote a militaristic foreign policy - and why this ends up backfiring. The professor's conclusion regarding the future of business enterprise is probably more pertinent today than it was when he wrote it.
The main drawback to this otherwise brilliant book is Professor Veblen's tendency to be prolix, and to use obscure words that, whilst precise and thus, academically rigorous, do not facilitate the reader's comprehension, (such as 'usufruct', 'interstitial', 'pecuniary exigencies', etc...) One should therefore warn in advance that this tome requires considerably more than an average degree of concentration and perseverance.
However, those men who have the intelligence and tenacity to make their way through this book will emerge with an unparalleled understanding of the world we live in.
Format:Paperback
(This review refers to the Cosimo edition)
This is a low quality reprint. The book was apparently
created by scanning an older edition.
In result - at the margin of the page -
many letters and half letters are missing.
The text is hardly readable.
This is a low quality reprint. The book was apparently
created by scanning an older edition.
In result - at the margin of the page -
many letters and half letters are missing.
The text is hardly readable.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Econ Class Review
30 April 2004
Format:Hardcover
JMJ IHM
Thorstein Veblen gives a very detailed, logical account of the business enterprise as he saw it in the 1900's. He places an emphasis on the individual buisness man, the powers he holds and what he can accomplish with those powers, as well as his effect on the economic and social community as a whole. He looks at the world community as it enters into the industrial age, dominated by what he calls the "machine process." He places intense importance on the subject of machines and how they relate to business enterprise. His Theory is very well-written and comprehensive, linking all aspects of his thought together in an organized, essay-like book.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
The Roots of Corporate Excess
26 Jun 2006
Format:Paperback
I recently reread Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of Business Enterprise. To my amazement, the book is more relevant today than when I first read during my college days
Published in 1904, the book expands the author's view that business organization was incompatible with making money. The industrial system, he argues, requires men to be diligent, efficient, and cooperative. On the other hand, those who rule it are overly concerned with making and spending money.
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.
Published in 1904, the book expands the author's view that business organization was incompatible with making money. The industrial system, he argues, requires men to be diligent, efficient, and cooperative. On the other hand, those who rule it are overly concerned with making and spending money.
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.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A Classic Text
21 April 2008
Format:Paperback
I read a fair amount of Veblen on the side as an undergraduate over 35 years ago. I did this during a very anti-War and anti-establishment time that meshed neatly with my own attitudes during that period. Recently, I thought I would go back and re-read some of his works--including this one. I was surprised. His descriptions of the financial foibles of Wall Street and American industry of the early 20th and late 19th century are startlingly similar to what we see today. The same tendency towards excessive leveraging existed back then (1904 publication) as it does today. It would truly seem that the old adage that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This homely insight could also be applied to good effect concerning military adventures by future US administrations. For some reason, I doubt that it will be the present one....
Veblen is his most wickedly funny and insightful as a critic. His views of captains of industry and the politicians who are effectively bought by them are as pertinent today as they were back them. He was a superb economic and social diagnostician.
The area that he seems to be weakest in, in retrospective, is his prescription for the ill patient. He romanticized the "machine process" and the "engineer", only to be eventually disappointed. Technocracy was a movement that he flirted with for awhile, but given the fact that engineers and technical people are every bit as flawed as the rest of humanity, was bound to fail him as well.
I wonder what he would have thought of FDR if he had lived another 10 years. I like to think that he would have embraced the type of social democracy that Roosevelt represented. But then again, he enjoyed playing the iconoclastic outsider. The brilliant wit who loved nothing more than tearing into the pretensions and frauds of those that have come to rule. ... He was one of a kind and hopefully will not be forgotten for a very long time. It's unfortunate that he is not studied more in schools. He has much of value to offer. Not the least of which is to question the established authority as opposed to bowing down and kissing its ring.
Veblen is his most wickedly funny and insightful as a critic. His views of captains of industry and the politicians who are effectively bought by them are as pertinent today as they were back them. He was a superb economic and social diagnostician.
The area that he seems to be weakest in, in retrospective, is his prescription for the ill patient. He romanticized the "machine process" and the "engineer", only to be eventually disappointed. Technocracy was a movement that he flirted with for awhile, but given the fact that engineers and technical people are every bit as flawed as the rest of humanity, was bound to fail him as well.
I wonder what he would have thought of FDR if he had lived another 10 years. I like to think that he would have embraced the type of social democracy that Roosevelt represented. But then again, he enjoyed playing the iconoclastic outsider. The brilliant wit who loved nothing more than tearing into the pretensions and frauds of those that have come to rule. ... He was one of a kind and hopefully will not be forgotten for a very long time. It's unfortunate that he is not studied more in schools. He has much of value to offer. Not the least of which is to question the established authority as opposed to bowing down and kissing its ring.
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