The Theory Of The Leisure Class An Economic Study Of American Institutions And A Social Critique Of Conspicuous Consumption

Download or read book The Theory of the Leisure Class written by Thorstein Veblen and published by Phoemixx Classics Ebooks. This book was released on 2021-10-20 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Theory of the Leisure Class Thorstein Veblen - The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1899), by Thorstein Veblen, 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 social institutions of the feudal period (9th15th c.) that have continued to the modern era.Veblen asserts that the contemporary lords of the manor, the businessmen who own the means of production, have employed themselves in the economically unproductive practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure, which are useless activities that contribute neither to the economy nor to the material production of the useful goods and services required for the functioning of society, while it is the middle class and the working class who are usefully employed in the industrialised, productive occupations that support the whole of society.