Veblen's century : a collective portrait / edited with an introduction by Irving Louis Horowitz.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Horowitz, Irving Louis

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Veblen, Thorstein, 1857-1929.

Veblen, Thorstein.

Economists--United States.

Economists.

United States.

Physical Description:

x, 301 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, NJ : Transaction Pub., [2002]

Summary:

Thorstein Veblen has a place of honor reserved for truly important figures. Economist, iconoclast, social critic, and moral judge of the American way of life, he has continued to attract the attention of students and scholars alike. People from every spectrum of political thought and every branch of the social sciences have been drawn to his work -- sometimes in praise, other times in criticism, but always with a sense of measuring what Veblen said and often how he said it. Veblen was, in the final analysis, an anthropologist of America as an advanced culture, as much a figure of the young twentieth century of America triumphant, as Tocqueville was a figure of the young nineteenth century of America ascending. We share with Veblen a sense of the observer peering at the complex foundation of behavior, whether such behavior is defined in terms of attitudes toward work and leisure, wealth and poverty, and finally, global war and peace.

An examination of the contributors to the Veblen literature in this masterful volume serves to make clear just how vital Veblen was and remains to our cultural landscape. Whether the reader selects from or reads all of the statements by David Riesman, Douglas Dowd, Max Lerner, E. Digby Baltzell, Wesley Clair Mitchell, C. Wright Mills, Daniel Bell, and the other outstanding participants in Veblen's Century, the pulsating vitality of Veblen himself is well captured. Indeed, a little bit of Veblen is encapsulated in and by his commentators. Veblen's Century originated as a project initiated in 1974 by Professor Horowitz to reissue the entire corpus of Veblen's writings in new editions with introductions written expressly with this larger purpose of bringing the master of economic theory to the attention of a new generation. That the project took more than a quarter century to complete is indicative of the care with which each new essay is crafted. In addition, with Transaction being identified as the "home" of Veblen, books on him were offered to the firm for reissuing. Thus, the inclusion of modern masters as well as those writing on specific texts enhance the volume.

Contents:

1. Veblen in the Context of American Culture / David Riesman 3

2. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Veblen / Douglas F. Dowd 17

3. The Place of Veblen in the History of Ideas / Wesley Clair Mitchell 41

4. Thorstein Veblen: Recipe for an American Genius / Max Lerner 65

5. Thorstein Veblen: Scientism and the Modern Mood / E. Digby Baltzell 89

6. Essays in Our Changing Order / Scott R. Bowman 99

7. The Theory of the Leisure Class / C. Wright Mills 107

8. The Engineers and the Price System / Daniel Bell 123

9. The Higher Learning in America / Ivar Berg 149

10. The Theory of Business Enterprise / Douglas F. Dowd 195

11 Absentee Ownership / Marion J. Levy, Jr. 203

12. Imperial Germany and the Industrial Revolution / Otto G. Mayer 215

13. The Instinct of Workmanship and the State of the Industrial Arts / Murray G. Murphey 229

14. The Nature of Peace / Warren J. Samuels 255

15. The Place of Science in Modern Civilization / Warren J. Samuels 275

16. Thorstein Veblen's Last Hurrah: Kept Classes, Vested Interests, and Common Man / Irving Louis Horowitz 291.

Notes:

A collection of 16 essays by scholars.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0765800993

076580882X

OCLC:

46810576