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The Theory of the Leisure Class
Thorstein Veblen
Edited by Martha Banta
304 pages
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196x129mm
978-0-19-955258-0
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Paperback
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28 May 2009
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- Thorstein Veblen's searing indictment of modern consumer society is startlingly relevant in a world of Paris Hiltons and Victoria Beckhams; this edition is a timely reminder of the human cost paid for waste in all its forms.
- Veblen's critique covers all aspects of modern life from dress, class, the position of women, home decoration, industry, business, and sport to religion, scholarship, and education.
- Martha Banta's excellent Introduction places a new emphasis on the literary force of Veblen's writing and its influence on later American writers such as Edith Wharton, Henry James, Dos Passos and Scott Fitzgerald. She also considers his critique of the plight of women and his evolutionary arguments as they relate to modern society.
'Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.'
In The Theory of the Leisure Class Thorstein Veblen sets out 'to discuss the place and value of the leisure class as an economic factor in modern life'. In so doing he 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 behaviour. Veblen's analysis of the evolutionary process sees greed as the overriding motive in the modern economy; with an impartial gaze he examines the human cost paid when social institutions exploit the consumption of unessential goods for the sake of personal profit. Fashion, beauty, animals, sports, the home, the clergy, scholars - all are assessed for their true usefulness and found wanting. The targets of Veblen's coruscating satire are as evident today as they were a century ago, and his book still has the power to shock and enlighten. Veblen's uncompromising arguments and the influential literary force of his writing are assessed in Martha Banta's Introduction.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Readership: Readers and students of cultural history, sociology, history of economic theory, gender studies, business management, consumerism
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Thorstein Veblen Edited by Martha Banta, Professor Emeritus, University of Calilfornia, Los Angeles
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Introductory
Pecuniary Emulation
Conspicuous Leisure
Conspicuous Consumption
The Pecuniary Standard of Living
Pecuniary Canons of Taste
Dress as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture
Industrial Exemption and Conservatism
The Conservation of Archaic Traits
Modern Survivals of Prowess
The Belief in Luck
Devout Observances
Survivals of the Non-Invidious Interest
The Higher Learning as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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