Imperial Germany & the Industrial Revolution (eBook)

Thorstein Bunde Veblen, born on July 30, 1857, in Wisconsin to Norwegian immigrant parents, was a luminary in the fields of economics and social theory. Veblen's scholarship was characterized by his incisive critique of capitalism and his keen interest in the social implications of economic behavior. He introduced concepts such as 'conspicuous consumption' and 'pecuniary emulation,' which have become foundational in the study of consumer behavior and social stratification. Veblen's educational journey led him through Carleton College, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University where he earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1884. His academic career, though marred by controversies and personal struggles, included positions at the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and the New School for Social Research. Veblen's seminal work, 'The Theory of the Leisure Class' (1899), profoundly impacted social science by exposing the variegated nature of social class and consumption in the late 19th-century America. However, it was in 'Imperial Germany & the Industrial Revolution' that Veblen explored the institutional changes in industrial society, influenced by the Germanic model, underscoring the dynamic interplay between technological innovation and economic development. The book illuminates his heterodox economic thought, deviating from mainstream neoclassical economics of his era. Veblen's contributions extend beyond economics into the realms of sociology and anthropology, with his deep exploration of the impact of industrial and post-industrial economic structures on human behaviors and institutions. With his death on August 3, 1929, the intellectual community lost a figure of relentless curiosity and acerbic social commentary, but his scholarly legacy remains potently relevant in contemporary discourse in the socio-economic sciences.