Thorstein Veblen and His Critics, 1891-1963 (ebook)

Argumento de Thorstein Veblen and His Critics, 1891-1963 (ebook)

The influential economist and philosopher Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was one of the most original and penetrating critics of American culture and institutions, and his work attracted and still attracts the attention of scholars from a wide range of political viewpoints and scholarly disciplines. Focusing on the doctrinal and theoretical facets of Veblen's political economy, this book offers a study not only of his ideas but also of the way his critics have responded to them. Rick Tilman assesses the weight of the critics' reactions, both positive and negative, as well as exposing their sometimes mistaken interpretations of Veblen's work. As he scrutinizes the ideologies of the conservatives, liberals, and radicals who commented on Veblen, he portrays the diversity of social theory in the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning with the first criticism of Veblen's work during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison and concluding with Daniel Bell's attack on him during the Kennedy administration, the book emphasizes those critics who systematically confronted the doctrinal structure of Veblen's thought and believed that they perceived in it fundamental weaknesses. But even the most negatively inclined--such as Paul Baran, Irving Fisher, and Talcott Parsons--admitted some of Veblen's strengths. Ironically, his supporters at times stripped his work of much of its potential for political and moral enlightenment without intending to do so.

Originally published in 1992.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.0Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Ch. 1 Veblen: The Man and His Critics 3 Ch. 2 Conservative Critics: The Early Period 18 Ch. 3 Conservative Critics: The Chicagoites 47 Ch. 4 Conservative Critics: The Religious Assault 71 Ch. 5 Liberal Critics: The Progressives 88 Ch. 6 Liberal Critics: The Institutionalists 114 Ch. 7 Liberal Critics: The Neoinstitutionalists 153 Ch. 8 Liberal Critics: Harvard and Columbia Style 163 Ch. 9 Radical Critics: The Frankfurt School 190 Ch. 10 Radical Critics: The Monthly Review 206 Ch. 11 Radical Critics: Marxism, Trotskyism, and Social Democracy 234 Ch. 12 The Ideological Use and Abuse of Thorstein Veblen 259 Notes 287 Archives Consulted 345 Index 351