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'Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.' In The Theory of the Leisure Class Thorstein Veblen sets out 'to discuss the place and value of the leisure class as an economic factor in modern life'. In so doing he produced a landmark study of affluent American society that exposes, with brilliant ruthlessness, the habits of production and waste that link invidious business tactics and barbaric social behaviour. Veblen's analysis of the evolutionary process sees greed as the overriding motive in the modern economy; with an impartial gaze he examines the human cost paid when social institutions exploit the consumption of unessential goods for the sake of personal profit. Fashion, beauty, animals, sports, the home, the clergy, scholars - all are assessed for their true usefulness and found wanting. The targets of Veblen's coruscating satire are as evident today as they were a century ago, and his book still has the power to shock and enlighten. Veblen's uncompromising arguments and the influential literary force of his writing are assessed in Martha Banta's Introduction.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book is a classic, when it comes to describing the modern economic, sociological and psychological makeup of society in spite of being first published in 1899. It can still be used as a guide to all those sciences, as well as a good introduction into where and how marketing / advertising can work / appeal.
The authors starts with the gender role evolution (a similar, more modern text on the same subject, which might be an easier read is Jared Diamond's Science Master: Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution Of Human Sexuality (Science Masters)) and then traces the development from the early, relatively undifferentiated society to the more modern, stratified one, characterised by the pecuniary (leisure) class on the one hand, and the industrial one on the other. The author then proceeds to show the role of dress, conspicuous consumption, leisure time, sports, institutions, religion, animism (aka luck), as well as education in strengthening and maintaining the system, always relating back to what developmental aspects lead to their development.
It makes for fascinating reading, both in terms of the clarity of thought the author applied, as well as how modern the work still is content wise, and how applicable to today's society, over 100 years after the book was first published. The evolutionary perspective, as used by the author, took a long time to be used so insightfully and comprehensively in social science research by others later on in the 20th century.
On top of that the work exudes a certain wittiness / sarcasm, which is not really apparent in a phrase or sentence, but comes across in the overall feel of it. There are no laugh out loud moments here but there will be a twinkle in your eye after reading a chapter.
The final comment I'd like to make about it is the writing style - this is the only aspect of the book, where the publication date is clearly apparent. It is relatively heavy going, with a rich but ponderous language (Veblen is no Stephen Fry), long sentences, no attempts at signposting, or introducing and concluding chapters, or for that matter, the book. It is not a commuting, holiday, or goodnight read, it does require one to apply oneself to it a bit more thoroughly.
The authors starts with the gender role evolution (a similar, more modern text on the same subject, which might be an easier read is Jared Diamond's Science Master: Why Is Sex Fun? The Evolution Of Human Sexuality (Science Masters)) and then traces the development from the early, relatively undifferentiated society to the more modern, stratified one, characterised by the pecuniary (leisure) class on the one hand, and the industrial one on the other. The author then proceeds to show the role of dress, conspicuous consumption, leisure time, sports, institutions, religion, animism (aka luck), as well as education in strengthening and maintaining the system, always relating back to what developmental aspects lead to their development.
It makes for fascinating reading, both in terms of the clarity of thought the author applied, as well as how modern the work still is content wise, and how applicable to today's society, over 100 years after the book was first published. The evolutionary perspective, as used by the author, took a long time to be used so insightfully and comprehensively in social science research by others later on in the 20th century.
On top of that the work exudes a certain wittiness / sarcasm, which is not really apparent in a phrase or sentence, but comes across in the overall feel of it. There are no laugh out loud moments here but there will be a twinkle in your eye after reading a chapter.
The final comment I'd like to make about it is the writing style - this is the only aspect of the book, where the publication date is clearly apparent. It is relatively heavy going, with a rich but ponderous language (Veblen is no Stephen Fry), long sentences, no attempts at signposting, or introducing and concluding chapters, or for that matter, the book. It is not a commuting, holiday, or goodnight read, it does require one to apply oneself to it a bit more thoroughly.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A wonderful, penetrating, thought-provoking work. Highly original and leaves you wondering why it isn't better known. It isn't the best-written book, but that is more than made up for by the content. Veblen's account has echoes of marxism in some of its claims, but is more convincing in its analysis. Indeed, in some ways it is more radical. However, it doesn't have the visionary appeal of marxism to certain class interests. It therefore lacks a constituency ready to promote it beyond those interested in the best social science from an academic point of view. You can see why it was often taken as a satire and why Veblen was disappointed by that. Some of his claims take your breath away; not by their audacity but by their insight. There's one blot in his dabbling with racial and ethnic theorising, but even here he is concerned to debunk the claims of elitists and racists rather than reinforce them. His discussion of gender relations is especially acute, though you have to re-read his final discussion of the subject (of 'new woman') before you realise that he is subtly explaining the problems that feminism faces rather than attacking the feminist movement.
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