The Theory of the Leisure Class

De: Thorstein Veblen

Narrado por: John Lescault

In this, his best-known work, the controversial American economist and social critic Thorstein Veblen appropriates Darwin's theory of evolution to analyze the modern industrial system. For Veblen, the shallowness and superficiality observed in society results from the tendency to believe that true accomplishment lies in arriving at a condition of ostentatious wealth and status. In developing his thesis, Veblen traces the origins and development of ownership and property, offering extraordinary insights into consumerism, the evolution of class structure, the rise of leisure time, and how modern societal goals are grounded in monetary aspirations and achievements.

With a cool gaze and devastating wit, Veblen examines the human cost paid when social institutions are founded on the consumption of unessential goods for the sake of personal profit. Fashion, beauty, sports, the home, the clergy, scholars - all are assessed for their true usefulness and found wanting. Indeed, Veblen's critique covers all aspects of modern life from dress, class, industry, business, and home decoration to religion, scholarship, education, and the position of women, laying bare the hollowness of many cherished standards of taste and culture.The targets of Veblen's brilliant, scathing satire are as evident today as they were when this classic of economic and social theory was first published, and his book still has the power to shock and enlighten.

Public Domain (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Informative and Engaging

A great listen. It’s detailed and unique perspective of how our modern Western societies have developed.

Brilliant analyis

Veblen was writing not only economic analysis but satire. His interpretations are acute and original. His language may seem anarchistic but is also wry and account for why the book is considered humorous by readers familiar with his work and style. Anyway, I like it. His life was very hard, as it often is with unconventional types who don't fit into academia.

An independent mind

Love Thorstein Veblen. A wide intellectual range. Many of his views ring true today.

At times pedantic and occasionally slow, overall very good. I smiled at some arguments because Veblen must have been a grumpy guy. But whatever annoyed him gave rise to an intellectual clarity that is worth a listen

Accurate to the 2000s

Conspicuous consumption. Honorific intent, leisure and labor. Thorstein could have written this book today. Rich and poor are exactly the same.

Insightful and Anachronistic.

Are you ready for some hot hot Gilded Age economic theory? Let's party like it's 1899!

Veblen's influential 1899 "Theory of the Leisure Class" is as dry as grandma's fruitcake and as anachronistic as an old dude at the nightclub but nevertheless is an intriguing and insightful look into the rise of service culture, conspicuous consumption (and waste), and what societies look like when people acquire status without doing much of anything.

Written at the height of the 19th century's Gilded Age, Veblen's basic argument is that as societies transition out of barbarism to an industrial era there rises a leisurely class whose status is derived not from traditional "barbaric" virtues (martial prowess) but rather the conspicuous consumption of good/services and the conspicuous waste that having lots of money entails. This leisurely class (and the service economy that orbits it) differs from the industrial/productive class in that the former doesn't actually produce anything tangible. Think every social media influence sporting Louis Vitton handbags.

While Veblen's examples of conspicuous consumption are a BIT dated -- we get lots of commentary on footmen, livery, and the gentleman's walking stick -- the overall sentiment is accurate and you can just switch out the titles or accoutrements to show what people do for status or clout in the modern era. I found particularly amusing Veblen's example of handcrafted items vs mass/machine produced items. The former are purportedly made with skill and mastery by a craftsman while the latter are cheaply made dross. And Veblen notes how willing people are to accept/forgive imperfections/shoddy work in a more expensive "handcrafted" item (again, to gain status) vs imperfections in a mass-produced and "cheap" product. A thousand "distressed" items on Pinterest just called out in pain and were suddenly silenced.

Again, while dry as a bone and exceedingly quasi-academic, Veblen's theory was prescient and still offers relevant insights for a modern world.