Thorstein Veblen

Born in Wisconsin in 1857 to Norwegian immigrant parents, Thorstein Veblen grew up in the American Midwest and later studied at Carleton College, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale. He became an economist and social critic with a reputation for challenging accepted ideas and writing in a dry, cutting style.

Veblen is most closely associated with The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), the book that introduced the famous idea of conspicuous consumption. He went on to teach at the University of Chicago and Stanford University and later worked in other academic and editorial roles, building a body of writing that questioned business culture, status-seeking, and the institutions of industrial society.

Although he never fit comfortably within the academic mainstream, Veblen had a lasting influence on economics, sociology, and cultural criticism. He died in California in 1929, but his skeptical view of wealth, prestige, and consumer behavior continues to speak to modern readers.