Thorstein Veblen

"The Instinct of Workmanship and the State of the Industrial Arts" is an 1899 treatise by Thorstein Veblen. Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857 – 1929) was a Norwegian-American sociologist and economist most famous for his idea of 'conspicuous consumption. He theorized that humans do not rationally pursue value and utility-an idea that has become one of the cornerstones of modern behavioral economics. He made a lasting contribution to his field and has...

Published at the beginning of World War I, this 1915 collection brings together thirty years of writings on the social and economic conditions that brought the Germany into global conflict. He considers the ancient origins of the German people, their historic conflict with England, and the economic policy of the imperial state.

In this scathing book, the author produced a landmark study of affluent American society that exposes, with brilliant ruthlessness, the habits of production and waste that link invidious business tactics and barbaric social behavior. Veblen's analysis of the evolutionary process sees greed as the overriding motive in the modern economy, and with an impartial gaze he examines the human cost paid when social institutions exploit the consumption of unessential...