The Theory of the Leisure Class (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Thorstein Veblen (Author), Martha Banta (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 019280684X | ISBN-13: 978-0192806840 | Publication Date: January 11, 2008

In his scathing The Theory of the Leisure Class, Thorstein Veblen 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 behavior. Veblen's analysis of the evolutionary process sees greed as the overriding motive in the modern economy, and 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. Indeed, Veblen's critique covers all aspects of modern life from dress, class, the position of women, home decoration, industry, business, and sport, to religion, scholarship, and education. 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. Martha Banta's introduction illuminates Veblen's uncompromising arguments as it highlights the literary force of Veblen's writing and its influence on later American writers such as Edith Wharton, Henry James, Dos Passos, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. She also sheds light on his critique of the plight of women and his evolutionary arguments as they relate to modern society.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Martha Banta is Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is past president of the American Studies Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019280684X
• ISBN-13: 978-0192806840
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #226,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique insights from an eclectic genius, February 4, 2010

By 

Jim Gerdy "jjg" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Theory of the Leisure Class (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

An obstacle is Veblen's rather difficult writing style with long sentences and complex prose. Once you get beyond that this is a treasure that treads where few others dare to. He details the delineation of social class with both precision comprehensiveness. He straddles aspects of life such as education, dress, travel, and even the basics of aboriginal class relations.

There is nothing else like both the content and the style of this masterful book. If you want insight into class structure, especially in the US, then read this book. After about a hundred years it is still relevant.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Theory of the Leisure Class, September 22, 2009

By 

A. Chartrand "Fiberalchemist/Artist/Book Nerd" (Bay Area (CA)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Theory of the Leisure Class (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This a Great scholarly book for anyone who is a Sociology student who might be attending a serious Junior College or University.

Even though this is a small book it is very dense and takes a bit for a first time reader on this topic to absorb.

This is a well researched book for those who wish to dig below the service of 'institutional stratification' mechanisms that rule this entire world in a 'functionalist' manner.

10 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Discourse of Supercilious Sesquipedalianisms, February 27, 2009

By 

lopside - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Theory of the Leisure Class (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I almost can't believe I read 180 pages of this laugh-a-minute classic text. Here's an actual sample: "The cannon of beauty requires expression of the generic. The `novelty' due to the demands of conspicuous waste traverses this canon of beauty, in that it results in making the physiognomy of our objects of taste a congeries of idiosyncrasies; and the idiosyncrasies are, moreover, under the selective surveillance of the canon of expensiveness."

In summary, pay the extra ten bucks for the deluxe edition; it comes with sharp sticks to gouge out your eyes. On the plus side, the book is so full of bull that its torn pages make a potent fertilizer. I give it an idiosyncratic congerie of low scores.