Veblen
Conspicuous Consumption. It would seem that Veblen’s theory of economics has never been more relevant than at present. I have yet to read The Theory of the Leisure Class, but from what I know about Veblen, his theories are not only innovative but extremely progressive for his time. With the economic crisis as it is, his name is being brought up more and more frequently. So, what’s the deal? The rich consume at an unnecessary and wasteful level. Their consumption is not based on need or survival, but on social status and image. This type of consuming is highly detrimental to the world because not only does it diminish resources, but it does nothing for people of low or no income. In fact, the alarming consumption of this demographic makes living conditions worse for others because it raises the cost of living and the price of common items. It seems sort of obvious, right? However, his philosophy is interesting too, as he was a pragmatic–therefore he believed that humans view reality through their own man-made construct instead of viewing the world as it actually is or appears to be regardless of man’s view. So, Veblen argued that man is constantly manipulating nature (because he sees it only as he wants to) in order to gain what he wants from it. This, he believes is the sole reason people tend to be materialistic. Anyway, he was always one for evolving the often archaic school of economy. And today, there are wannabe Veblen’s all over the world. Thank god.
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