Thorstein Veblen

Thorstein Veblen was an American economist and sociologist. He is best known for his critique of capitalism and consumerism. His book The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) introduced the terms conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure. Veblen helped to found the school of institutional economics. His work influenced later critiques of capitalism and technological society.

Thorstein Bunde Veblen was born in Cato, Wisconsin. His parents, Thomas Veblen and Kari Bunde, were immigrants from Norway. The family moved to a farm in Rice County, Minnesota, in 1864. Veblen learned English at school, but the family continued to read Norwegian literature at home.

The farm's success enabled all twelve Veblen children to receive a formal education. Veblen's sister Emily became the first Norwegian immigrant daughter to graduate from an American college.

In 1874, Veblen entered Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He studied philosophy and economics with John Bates Clark. Clark's teaching introduced him to formal economic theory. Veblen also studied natural history and philology, which shaped his approach to social science.

After graduating in 1880, Veblen studied philosophy at Johns Hopkins and received a PhD from Yale in 1884. His dissertation was entitled Ethical Grounds of a Doctrine of Retribution.

For seven years, Veblen struggled to find academic work. He returned to the family farm and read widely. In 1891, he enrolled at Cornell University to study economics. With the help of the economist James Laurence Laughlin, he moved to the University of Chicago in 1892. There, he worked for the Journal of Political Economy and began to publish essays. His lectures were unpopular, but his writing attracted attention.

In 1899, Veblen published The Theory of the Leisure Class. The book was a critique of social class, consumerism and capitalism. He argued that the leisure class used wealth for display rather than need. He wrote that "conspicuous consumption" meant buying goods to show status, not usefulness.

He also described 'conspicuous leisure' as the unproductive use of time to show social rank. Productive work was seen as a sign of lower status. In Veblen's view, the upper class consumed without purpose, while others produced what society needed.

He traced the leisure class back to tribal societies, where the elite played symbolic rather than productive roles. In modern industrial society, this behaviour continued in various forms. Veblen believed that economic inequality and class emulation led to waste and social harm. He argued that charitable acts by the wealthy served their image rather than public need. He also claimed that wealth accumulation by the few meant deprivation for the many.

Veblen's terms and theories entered social thought and remain widely studied. His work helped to create institutional economics, which sees the economy as shaped by culture and institutions.