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Theory of the Leisure Class (Reprints of Economic Classics)

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It's true to say that Veblen's book is one of the great classics of economic theory; however, such a description suggests (at least to non-economists like myself) that the book will be either dull or remorselessly technical. On the contrary, "The Theory of the Leisure Class" is stylishly written, endlessly startling (for example, Veblen analyses religion as an outgrowth of the gambling instinct), and very, very funny. Its expose of "conspicuous consumption" (yes, Veblen was the one who invented this famous concept) is as relevant today as it was in 1899, if not more so. Whether or not you agree with all that he says, it's thought-provoking and exciting stuff.

This opus by Veblen exposes the real meaning of the pecuniary advancement of the working and merchant classes, and the formation of elites based mostly upon money and asset valuation. The transfiguration of the traditional social and individual ethical values that this phenomenon produced, is portraited with clarity and sarcastic intelligence by the author in the book, first published in 1899.
Now a classic of economic theory, as well as a text book of social science, it describes the tendencies of consumerism, leisure and the "materialization" of the ideals of the aspiring new princes (or noveau rich) of society. Veblen's vibrant satire of the tendency of the modern individual to believe that real accomplishment is all about aquiring a condition of ostentatious wealth and status, and his analisis of the inception of modern class structure in America, still stand, a century after, as recommended reading for historians and economists.
If you are a fervent follower of advertisement, fashion, "glamour" and other modern expressions of consumerism , then you will find a surprisingly fresh portrait of yourself in this book. It worries me that the leisure class and its shallow views and values as described by Veblen, may still today represent elites in America and their religion, as analyzed by professor Lash in his last book "The Revolt of the Elites". I highly recommend Veblen's best book, to scholars and sociologists at large.

Known by his contemporaries as the only social theorist to apply Darwin critically, in 1899 Thorstein Veblen published The Theory of the Leisure Class: A Economic Study of Institutions, which was to become the basis from which all further American leisure history and theory stemmed. In his study, Veblen is primarily concerned with the "new rich," whom he regards as social parasites that retard the growth of modern life. Thorstein Veblen wrote The Theory of the Leisure Class from a perspective that was largely isolated from his own culture, which either aided in his understanding of the Leisure Class or perhaps negatively influenced his opinions due to his exclusion from it. In The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen essentially confines man and woman's existence on the planet as a struggle to change and adapt with the growth of their communities. Through this belief, Veblen develops a theme that amounts to the idea of a certain "dominant" type of individual. This individual develops a social structure through dominance in which social advance is sought by others. She/he will feel the discrepancy between the modern life and traditional life during the process. Though Veblen's rhetoric is sometimes anxious, sometimes negative, he actively pursues a specific account of the origins of the Leisure Class through individuals. The struggle for individual advancement eventually expands to include society, and the more individual struggle for advancement in society leads to the accumulation of surplus goods.
Surplus of conspicuous consumption by the Leisure Class gives the class license to indulge shamefully in pure conspicuous consumption, where their occupations eventually become leisure itself. These "professions" of the Leisure Class by nature render it closed, and impenetrable by outsiders.
Thorstein Veblen wrote the Leisure Class represented the new phenomena of conspicuous consumption compared to pre-Industrialized wealthy communities as well as contemporary working-class ones. But as intellectual inquiry into the topic of leisure has progressed over the past one hundred years, leisure has come to hold a number of definitions and meanings.

The basic premise of this book is that modern humans have inherited an instinct to compete with each other for material resources. This competition takes place within the context of a small groups that share the spoils of the competition amongst themselves. (Other primates essentially do the same thing). The theory hinges on the question of what happens when a group of people have access to essentially unlimited resources, but still have the competitive urge. Veblen's answer is that they simply compete amongst themselves to see who can afford to be the most wasteful (like the scene in that Woody Allen movie in which two guys start ripping up dollar bills to impress each other). He refers to such waste as "conspicuous consumption".

According to Veblen, the urge to consume conspicuously explains a lot of human behavior, including fashion, sports, and religion. In all cases the consumer wants to demonstrate to his peers that he can't possibly be involved in doing anything useful. A particularly funny consequence of the urge to consume is the notion of "vicarious consumption," in which really rich people acquire other people (essentially servants and wives) to do their consuming for them. To emphasize the point they dress up their vicarious consumers in preposterous outfits and require them to perform pointless tasks with high precision (think of a butler in a tuxedo serving a 12-course meal or some such).

In this vein, anthropomorphic religions essentially worship the richest guy of all. God is imagined to be so rich that he sits on a throne all day while people in silly clothes (clergy) do nothing but tend to his fabulous mansions (churches). It's an intentionally funny image, although Veblen is careful to say that he's not poking fun at the spiritual aspects of religion, just the form in which modern humans choose to express them.

An interesting subtheme is the alliance between the "leisure class" and the poor, something we see happening today in American politics. In Veblen's theory the alliance occurs because the two classes essentially share the same mindset (obsession with status).

Overall the book is fun to read, except for the writing style, which is reminiscent of essays written by high school students who are studying for the SATs.

This may not be a book to read for recreation, unless you like 1890s verbal locutions, but there are other reasons to read it. The emergence of the economic analysis of Western society might intrigue you. You might discover the origins of such still useful terms as 'leisure class' and 'conspicuous consumption,' among others. You might be curious about author Thorstein Veblen's status-conscious, anachronistic world of working men and idle wives, which reflects upper-class society in his day. Published in 1899, this is a classic in sociology and economic literature, although it is a veritable dreadnought of density. It discusses property, ownership, status and leisure in a turn-of-the-last-century American context. Though scholars call it a 'satire,' the book is neither witty nor ironic. Instead, it is a stolid analytical daguerreotype of a world long gone. We suggest that if you tackle Veblen's old-fashioned, slow-flowing prose, you should do it for the background you may glean and the scholarly satisfaction you may feel when you are done. Instead of Alexander Pope's, 'What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed,' this book presents what oft was said and usually better, but not as early.

This is one of the most thought provoking books I have read in a long time. Veblen leaves no stone unturned in his dissection of America's upper class and the unconscious traditions that lead them, and us. It is not hard to understand the volcano that erupted with this books publication. The Penguin edition is also set in an elegant Caslon typeface that reads beautifully.

Like the wealth of nations or Leviathon this book is both an economic, and social text. Very good perspective if somewhat harsh and disassociated. Percuinary emulation is something everybody should understand to avoid becoming a mindless yuppie clone - good advice.

This book, although written over 100 years ago is still valid. Even though Veblen attempts to press the application of his thesis a bit too far, the thesis istself still has merit for the 21st century. His thesis, although not stated as such is biblically rooted in Ecclesiastes 4:4, "And I saw that all labor and all achievement springs from man's envy of his neighbor." Interesting perspective on society... worth the read!

Mr. Veblen is a refined person in the use of the words he uses to address and explain the economic habits of the refined people of the upper-class of the beginning of the last century. He spares no expenses in detailing in a very polite manner the idiossincracies of the noble and very rich when deciding what to buy, what to use and how to behave, going also to all lenghts explainning how these habits mold and form the habits of the not so rich and noble strata of the society. His theory of the leisure class reachs significance when compared to the rationality which some economists, classics and neo-classics, ascribe to the human being as an economic agent. I was quite surprised by the elegant style of Mr.Veblen and the fine irony (which he does not admit) with which he treats the rich and noble of his time. Sure, this is a book which could be also serve well times ahead and before Veblen's time.

I was extremely pleased with this book. It reduces the notion of society to a popularity contest in which fashion becomes the perfect expression of everyone's desire to be praised and noticed. As the American economy shifts from being a breadbasket to being the entertainment capital of a devil in blue jeans world, this book, from a much earlier historical period, shows how America always had the potential to achieve this kind of greatness. More than any other book, this one allows total enjoyment of the thoughts which it expresses. When a mind has been trained to blossom in this way, the greatest danger might be that it could be considered grandiose for daring to make such comments.