Thorstein Bunde Veblen was a Norwegian-American economist and sociologist, celebrated as a witty critic of capitalism. He is famously known for the concept of "conspicuous consumption," alongside "conspicuous leisure," as means of demonstrating wealth and social status. Veblen is regarded as a leader of the institutional economics movement, and his distinction between "institutions" and "technology" remains known as the Veblenian dichotomy. As a prominent intellectual of the Progressive Era, Veblen critiqued production for profit, with his ideas significantly influencing socialist thinkers seeking non-Marxist critiques of capitalism.
Kniha patří k nejslavnějším a současně nejvýznamnějším pracím z tzv. kritické sociologie. Veblen v této své knize podal první systematickou analýzu životního způsobu, který je důsledkem společenské organizace založené více na motivu peněžního zisku než tzv. instinktu dobré práce. Jeho brilantní analýza a kritika společnosti zakládající se pouze na majetkovém soutěžení je – ač jí je více než sto let – stále aktuální. V soudobé sociologické literatuře se ostatně uvádí jako zakladatelské dílo sociologie spotřeby, sociologie módy a teorie konzumní společnosti.
Die Analyse der Dynamiken von Wohlstand und sozialem Status in kapitalistischen Gesellschaften steht im Mittelpunkt dieses wegweisenden Werks. Thorstein Veblen führt den Begriff des "sichtbaren Konsums" ein, um den Luxusverbrauch der oberen Klassen, der auf sozialem Prestige und nicht auf Notwendigkeit basiert, zu erläutern. Das Buch deckt die Mechanismen auf, die die privilegierten Klassen von der arbeitenden Bevölkerung abgrenzen, und bietet eine scharfe, kritische Perspektive auf die Funktionsweise des modernen Kapitalismus. Ein unverzichtbarer Klassiker der Sozialwissenschaften.
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The book critiques the influence of politics and investment on industrial policy, arguing that decisions should be made solely by production engineers without commercial interests. It emphasizes the need for a more objective approach to industrial management, highlighting the potential conflicts that arise when external factors dictate policy over technical expertise. This perspective advocates for a separation of industrial policy from political and financial motivations to ensure more effective and unbiased decision-making in production.
The Theory of the Leisure Class is criticism of capitalism. Conspicuous consumption, along with "conspicuous leisure," is performed to demonstrate wealth or mark social status. The book is a treatise on economics and a detailed, social critique of conspicuous consumption, as a function of social class and of consumerism, derived from the social stratification of people and the division of labour, which are the social institutions of the feudal period (9th - 15th centuries) that have continued to the modern era. The book presents the evolutionary development of human institutions (social and economic) that shape society, such as how the citizens earn their livelihoods, wherein technology and the industrial arts are the creative forces of economic production. The sociology and economics applied by Veblen show the dynamic, intellectual influences of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, and Herbert Spencer; thus, his theories of socio-economics emphasize evolution and development as characteristics of human institutions. Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was an American economist and sociologist. He is well known as a witty critic of capitalism. Within the history of economic thought, Veblen is considered the leader of the institutional economics movement. Veblen's distinction between "institutions" and "technology" is still called the Veblenian dichotomy by contemporary economists.
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