Works by
Thorstein Veblen
(aka Thorstein Bunde Veblen)
(Writer)
[1857 - 1929]

• The Instinct of Workmanship and the Irksomeness of Labor (1898)

• The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899)
  Almost a century after its original publication, Thorstein Veblen's work is as fresh and relevant as ever. Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class is in the tradition of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, yet it provides a surprisingly contemporary look at American economics and society. Establishing such terms as "conspicuous consumption" and "pecuniary emulation," Veblen's most famous work has become an archetype not only of economic theory, but of historical and sociological thought as well. As sociologist Alan Wolfe writes in his Introduction, Veblen "skillfully . . . wrote a book that will be read so long as the rich are different from the rest of us; which, if the future is anything like the past, they always will be."

• The Higher Learning in America (1904)
  At the time of its initial publication in 1904, The Higher Learning in America was known in educated circles as the most reflective study ever made of the university system in America. Veblen's evaluation of the misleading notions and erroneous beliefs were inherent in "the higher learning" was received as fair by most academics. As a result, many believed he paved the way to an improved age in college education. Just as applicable today as they were decades ago, his sophisticated style remains deprecatingly amusing; his biting critique just as disquieting as it was at the turn of the 19th century. The Higher Learning in America remains a penetrating book by one of America's greatest social critics.

• Theory of Business Enterprise (1904)
  Veblen's second book and second only in importance to Theory of the Leisure Class whose main themes it further develops. Of all his works, this theoretical analysis of the large-scale corporation and of the institutions of American captialism is closest to a conventional academic treatise and best presents Veblen's affirmative contributions to economics. It provides the fullest elaboration of his views on the cleavage between business and industry, between the making of money and the making of goods, between ownership and technology, between pecuniary and industrial employment and finally between those who perform social functions and those whose behavior leads to waste.

• The Instinct of Workmanship and the State of the Industrial Arts (1914)
  One of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, American economist and sociologist THORSTEIN BUNDE VEBLEN (1857-1929) is best remembered for coining the phrase "conspicuous consumption." This 1914 volume is considered by some Veblen's most important work, showcasing the underpinnings of his theories and speculations. Here, Veblen explores... . the battle between instinct and habit . how instinct shaped primitive technologies . how modern industrial arts reflect a collective instinct . the technology of the "predatory culture" . the differences between "peaceable ownership" and the "competitive system" . and more.

• An inquiry Into the Nature of Peace and the Terms of its Perpetuationi (1917)
  Veblen explores the questions and conditions related to the quest for perpetual peace at large. Contents: On the State and Its Relation to War and Peace; On the Nature and Uses of Patriotism; On the Conditions of a Lasting Peace; Peace Without Honor; Peace and Neutrality; Elimination of the Unfit; and Peace and the Price System.

• The Vested Interests And the Common Man (1919)
  IN THE VESTED INTERESTS AND THE COMMON MAN, long considered a classic text of economics, Veblen discusses various financial transformations within the historical unfolding of capitalism and examines the value of free enterprise in general. It emphasizes the automation and the loss of direct human relations within the industrial arts as well as social repercussions of capitalistic industry.

• The Engineers and the Price System (1921)
  One of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, American economist and sociologist THORSTEIN BUNDE VEBLEN (1857-1929) is best remembered for coining the phrase "conspicuous consumption." But he also, in this 1921 volume, foresaw the rise of the scientist and the technologist as an economic power. Here, he explains... . the conflict between the entrepreneur and the engineer . the new power of the technological craftsman in the industrial scheme . why any "revolution" in America would come from organized labor . and more. ALSO FROM COSIMO: Veblen's The Vested Interests and the Common Man, The Theory of Business Enterprise, Imperial Germany and the Industrial Revolution, An Inquiry into the Nature of Peace and the Terms of Its Perpetuation, and The Instinct of Workmanship and the State of the Industrial Arts

• Absentee Ownership and Business Enterprise in Recent Times (1923)

• The Laxdaela Saga Translated from the Icelandic (1925)

• Essays in Our Changing Order (1934)

• The Place of Science in Modern Civilisation and Other Essays (1942)

• The Portable Veblen (1950)
  The Theory of the Leisure Class, selections from: The Place of Science, Absentee Ownership, The Instinct of Workmanship, The Engineers and the Price System, and others.

 See also:

• Thorstein Veblen and His America (1934) by Joseph Dorfman

• Thorstein Veblen (1953) by David Riesman

• Thorstein Veblen: A Critical Interpretation (1960) by David Riesman

• Thorstein Veblen (1963) by Bernard Rosenberg

• Veblen's Theory of Social Change (1977) by Leonard A. Dente

• Thorstein Veblen and His Critics, 1891-1963 (1992) by Rick Tilman
  The influential economist and philosopher Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was one of the most original and penetrating critics of American culture and institutions, and his work attracted and still attracts the attention of scholars from a wide range of political viewpoints and scholarly disciplines. Focusing on the doctrinal and theoretical facets of Veblen's political economy, this book offers a study not only of his ideas but also of the way his critics have responded to them. Rick Tilman assesses the weight of the critics' reactions, both positive and negative, as well as exposing their sometimes mistaken interpretations of Veblen's work. As he scrutinizes the ideologies of the conservatives, liberals, and radicals who commented on Veblen, he portrays the diversity of social theory in the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning with the first criticism of Veblen's work during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison and concluding with Daniel Bell's attack on him during the Kennedy administration, the book emphasizes those critics who systematically confronted the doctrinal structure of Veblen's thought and believed that they perceived in it fundamental weaknesses. But even the most negatively inclined--such as Paul Baran, Irving Fisher, and Talcott Parsons--admitted some of Veblen's strengths. Ironically, his supporters at times stripped his work of much of its potential for political and moral enlightenment without intending to do so.

• A Veblen Treasury: From Leisure Class to War, Peace, and Capitalism (1993) by Rick Tilman

• The Intellectual Legacy of Thorstein Veblen:  Unresolved Issues (1996) by Rick Tilman
  Scholars attempting to place Veblen in a particular intellectual tradition will only succeed in reaping frustration and confusion until it is recognized that he was primarily sui generis and eclectic. This is the recurring theme that is made explicit in the introduction, conclusion, and some of the chapters of this work. Veblen was a thinker of such depth and power that he was able to create his own intellectual paradigm. The result of his endeavors is that more than a few intellectuals including his followers, the institutional economists, have spent their careers trying to understand the paradigm and to develop it in several directions for their own purposes.

• Thorstein Veblen: Theorist of the Leisure Class (1999) by John Patrick Diggins

• Veblen in Plain English: A Complete Introduction to Thorstein Veblen's Economics  (2006) by Ken McCormick