biography
| name: |
Veblen, Thorstein (Bunde)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1857–1929)
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| biography:
| Economist and social critic, born in Cato, Wisconsin, USA. He studied at Carleton College and took his PhD in philosophy from Yale University in 1884. Having little use for neoclassical economics, he is best known for his sharp criticism of modern industrial civilization in such works as The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), The Instinct of Workmanship (1914), Imperial Germany and the Industrial Revolution (1915), The Higher Learning in America (1918), and Absentee Ownership (1923). He argued in favour of economics as an evolutionary science, intending an inquiry into the genesis and growth of economic institutions. His writings drew on history, psychology, and anthropology, and he had a tendency to devise colourful phrases such as ‘conspicuous consumption’, ‘pecuniary emulation’, and ‘ostentatious display’. He found it difficult to secure a permanent teaching job - his eccentric teaching style and unorthodox personal life led to his dismissal from both the University of Chicago and Stanford. His last work was practically indecipherable, and despite a small but loyal following, he died in relative obscurity, but his books and ideas have since continued to be widely cited. |
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