The Theory of Business Enterprise - Softcover

Veblen, Thorstein

4.05

99 ratings by Goodreads

9781519083371: The Theory of Business Enterprise

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1519083378 ISBN 13: 9781519083371

Publisher: Independently published, 2016

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Thorstein Veblen’s The Theory of Business Enterprise is one of the seminal works of economics.
Written during the advent of the United States of America’s economic boom, it analyses the effect of corporate culture on society and the economy. Looking at the situation that he saw around him Veblen stated that there was conflict between the old way of economics, led by the large businessmen, and the new system of industry, led by engineers. Business owners, Veblen claimed, were culpable for solely focusing on profits, sometimes reducing production in order to do so. The engineers on the other hand were more understanding of the industrial system and focused not just on profits, but instead worked for efficiency and the production of products for the wider society. Veblen provides fascinating insight into how economics saw dramatic changes through the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, and many of his theories remain relevant today. “[M]any evidences of keen and profound thought, of a high grade of scholarship and of a breadth and sureness of vision . . . penetrated by flashes of inimitable satiric wit that is delightful.” — Industrial and Labor Relations Review. “Extremely acute, subtle and brilliant” James Hayden Tufts. Thorstein Veblen was a prominent economic theorist of the early twentieth century who criticized the idea that businesses should aim for profit alone. As a critic of untethered capitalism he has had a large influence on economic thinkers throughout the twentieth century. He died in 1929, just three months before the Wall Street Crash.

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From the Back Cover:

Thorstein Veblen was once described by Fortune magazine as "America's most brilliant and influential critic of modern business and the values of a business civilization," and his wisdom and often dry, satiric wit continues to be obvious today.

In The Theory of Business Enterprise, first published in 1904, he ravages corporate malfeasance and the greed that was spurring the robber barons of his day. If it all sounds familiar a century later, it's a testament to the timelessness of Veblen's criticisms of the corporate world, the wrongdoings of which today he would readily recognize. Modern readers will appreciate this reintroduction to one of the great economic thinkers.

About the Author:

Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was perhaps the most famous American economist and social critic of his time. He taught at the universities of Chicago and Missouri, Stanford University, and the New School for Social Research. His many books include The Theory of Business Enterprise, The Higher Learning in America, and The Theory of the Leisure Class, all available from Transaction.

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