219
not in those cases in which the
consumers are perceived to be, and
often are, exceeding the financial
means available to them.
Veblen’s legacy
Veblen’s ideas on the conspicuous
nature of consumption have been
influential in the development of
sociological analysis and continue
to attract controversy and debate
in equal measure.
For example, the work of the
French theorist Pierre Bourdieu
is indebted to Veblen’s notions
of pecuniary emulation and
conspicuous consumption, even
though he modified them to fit his
theoretical model. Bourdieu maps
out how individuals and social-
class groups constantly compete
with, and differentiate themselves
from, one another through the
consumption of certain types
of socially distinguishing goods
and services.
British-born sociologist Colin
Campbell, however, sees Veblen’s
work as overly reductive. He claims
that Veblen fails to acknowledge
that the acquisition of consumer
goods plays an essential and
positive part in the way people
are able to construct a sense of
self-identity and worth through
the products they buy and the
activities they pursue.
More recently, sociologists
have questioned whether a socially
distinct leisure class can really
be said to exist at all. British
sociologist Mike Savage, for
example, has argued that the
shifting dynamics of modern
class relations means there is no
aristocratic leisure class in the
modern world. This also means,
according to Savage, that there
is no longer a clearly identifiable
social group whose tasteWORK AND CONSUMERISM
dispositions and consumption
practices are emulated by all
other social groups.
Developing this idea further,
US sociologist Richard Peterson
devised the concept of “cultural
omnivore” to refer to an emergent
social group—the educated fraction
of the middle class working in
the new media industries and
advertising—that accrues prestige
from consuming an eclectic mix
of high- and low-brow consumer
goods. Social prestige, according
to Peterson, is now no longer
derived from conspicuous
consumption of luxury goods
alone, but from the “knowing”
and “ironic” consumption of
purposively non-luxury items such
as retrograde clothing, baseball
caps, Dr. Martens boots, and so on.
Despite criticisms and
modification of his ideas, Veblen’s
The Theory of the Leisure Class,
with its detailed examination
of the intended and unintended
social consequences of consumer
spending and wider consumption
patterns in capitalist societies,
nevertheless remains an essential
reference for economists and
sociologists alike. ■Thorstein Veblen
Thorsten Veblen was born in
Wisconsin to Norwegian
immigrant parents. He obtained
his undergraduate degree in
economics from Johns Hopkins
University in 1880; four years
later he received his doctorate
from Yale University.
Veblen’s relationship with
the world of institutional
academia was a fractious one.
In the late 19th century, many
universities were strongly
affiliated with churches, and
Veblen’s skepticism aboutreligion, combined with his
odd manner and allegedly
monotonous teaching style,
meant that he struggled to gain
employment. As a result, from
1884 to 1891 he depended on
the largesse of his family.
In 1892, his former mentor,
J. Laurence Laughlin, joined the
University of Chicago, taking
Veblen with him as a teaching
assistant. It was here Veblen
wrote and published The Theory
of the Leisure Class. Shortly after,
he was fired from the University
of Chicago and, later, also from
the University of Stanford forhis notoriously promiscuous
behavior. This culminated in
divorce from his wife in 1911.
He moved to California, where
he passed his remaining years
in depressed solitude.Key works1899 The Theory of the Leisure
Class: An Economic Study
of Institutions
1904 The Theory of Business
Enterprise
1914 The Instincts of
Workmanship and the State
of the Industrial ArtsIndividuals... seek to
excel in pecuniary standing
and... gain the esteem
and envy of fellow-men.
Thorstein Veblen