The Anthem Companion to Thorstein Veblen

Description

Original, authoritative and wide-ranging contemporary work on Thorstein Veblen

Amidst cascading global financial and political crises of the late twentieth- and early twenty-first centuries, scholars have turned for insight to the work of the radical American thinker, Thorstein Veblen. Inspired by an abundance of new research, social scientists from multiple disciplines have displayed a heightened appreciation for Veblen’s importance and value for contemporary social, economic and political studies. “The Anthem Companion to Thorstein Veblen,” edited with an introduction by Sidney Plotkin, is a stimulating addition to this new body of Veblen scholarship.

The essays in the first part consider Veblen’s method, philosophy and values. Sociologist Erkki Kilpinen peers deeply into Veblen’s highly original theory of action and its implications for a sociological understanding of “the instinct of workmanship.” In contrast, economist William Waller, building on contemporary work in evolutionary economics and psychology, urges a considerably more bio-psychological interpretation of Veblen’s instinct theory. Intellectual historians Rick Tilman and Kohl Glau, exploring the secular foundations of Veblen’s moral theory, furnish a sharp critique of recent efforts to wed Veblen with Catholic social thought. Challenging older understandings, Russell H. and Sylvia E. Bartley, careful students of Veblen’s biography, offer novel insights into the impact of Veblen’s education at Carlton College, while sociologist Stephan G. Mestrovic thoughtfully insists that Veblen unduly limited his affirmation of “idle curiosity” as a chief resource for learning to elite post graduate schools.

Contemporary applications of Veblen’s theory to studies of capitalism, social structure and politics are the focus of the contributions in the next part. Anthropologist John Kelly forcefully urges a reconsideration of Veblen’s critical theory as an inspiration for both students and activists in an age of capitalism “after post-modernism and post-coloniality.” Returning to Veblen’s most important early work, sociologist Ahmet Oncu skillfully weaves the theory of the leisure class into a rich and exciting re-interpretation of Turkey’s Ottoman ruling groups. Building on Veblen’s critical theory of absentee ownership and power, political scientist Sidney Plotkin analyzes Veblen’s embrace of local forms of political economic self-rule, but notes Veblen’s sense of the ideological ambiguity of popular resistance to centralized power. Finally, geographer Ross Mitchell applies the radical democratic potential of Veblen’s concept of “the masterless man” to an understanding of both the possibilities and limits of contemporary left movements. Throughout, the essays offer fresh material for ongoing reconsiderations of Thorstein Veblen as a major theoretical resource for the contemporary social sciences.

Introduction: Thorstein Veblen’s Elusive Mind; Part I: Method, Philosophy and Values; 1. The Instinct of Workmanship and Other Philosophical Concepts in Thorstein Veblen’s Methodology; 2. Reconsidering Thorstein Veblen’s Use of Instincts; 3. Roman Catholic Critics of Thorstein Veblen and Institutional Economists; 4. The Metaphysical World of Thorstein Veblen: Of and Beyond the Here and Now; 5. Veblen’s Position on Education Analyzed and Reformulated; Part II: Capitalism, Social Structure and Politics; 6. Re-Igniting the Anthropology of Capitalism: Returning to Veblen, after postmodernism, after postcoloniality; 7. On the Social Origin of the Leisure Class in Turkey: For a Veblenian Turn in the Marxian Research Program of Turkish Studies; 8. Veblen’s Localism and its Ambiguities; 9. Learning from Veblen’s Masterless Man for Grassroots Democratic Change; Index.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Sociology

Informations

• Publié par: Anthem Press
• Date de parution: 02 mai 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783085095
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

The Anthem Companion to Thorstein Veblen
ANTHEM COMPANIONS TO SOCIOLOGY
Anthem Companions to Sociology offer authoritative and comprehensive assessments of major figures in the development of sociology from the past two centuries. Covering the major advancements in sociological thought, these companions offer critical evaluations of key figures in the American and European sociological tradition, and will provide students and scholars with an in-depth assessment of the makers of sociology and chart their relevance to modern society.
Series Editor
Bryan S. Turner – City University of New York, USA / Australian Catholic University, Australia / University of Potsdam, Germany
Forthcoming titles

The Anthem Companion to Karl Mannheim
The Anthem Companion to Gabriel Tarde
The Anthem Companion to Philip Rieff
The Anthem Companion to Ernst Troeltsch
The Anthem Companion to Auguste Comte
The Anthem Companion to Thorstein Veblen
Edited by Sidney Plotkin
Anthem Press
An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company
www.anthempress.com

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© 2017 Sidney Plotkin editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters © individual contributors

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Plotkin, Sidney, editor.
Title: The Anthem companion to Thorstein Veblen / [edited by] Sidney Plotkin.
Description: London ; New York, NY : Anthem Press, 2017. | Series: Anthem companions to sociology | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017006962 | ISBN 9781783082797 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Veblen, Thorstein, 1857–1929. | Economics. | Economics–Sociological aspects.
Classification: LCC HB119. V4 A58 2017 | DDC 330.092–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006962

ISBN-13: 978-1-78308-279-7 (Hbk)
ISBN-10: 1-78308-279-8 (Hbk)

This title is also available as an e-book.
For Sam, Rachel, Joanna and Joseph, their humanity and their laughter.
CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction: Thorstein Veblen’s Elusive Project Sidney Plotkin
Part I. METHOD, PHILOSOPHY AND VALUES Chapter One The Instinct of Workmanship and Other Philosophical Concepts in Thorstein Veblen’s Methodology Erkki Kilpinen Chapter Two Reconsidering Thorstein Veblen’s Use of Instincts William Waller Chapter Three Roman Catholic Critics of Thorstein Veblen and Institutional Economists Rick Tilman and Kohl Glau Chapter Four The Metaphysical World of Thorstein Veblen: Of and Beyond the Here and Now Russell H. Bartley and Sylvia Erickson Bartley Chapter Five Veblen’s Position on Education Analyzed and Reformulated Stjepan G. Mestrovic
Part II. CAPITALISM, SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND POLITICS Chapter Six Reigniting the Anthropology of Capitalism: Returning to Veblen, after Postmodernism, after Postcoloniality John D. Kelly Chapter Seven On the Social Origin of the Leisure Class in Turkey: For a Veblenian Turn in the Marxian Research Program of Turkish Studies Ahmet Öncü Chapter Eight Veblen’s Localism and Its Ambiguities Sidney Plotkin Chapter Nine Learning from Veblen’s Masterless Man for Grassroots Democratic Change Ross E. Mitchell
List of Contributors Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Toil in the field of Veblen scholarship can be a lonely affair. Thanks to organizations such as the International Thorstein Veblen Association (ITVA) and the Internet, which allows conversation to flourish across oceans and time zones, I have enjoyed the fruits of advice, cooperation, collegiality and friendship. I owe special debts in this regard to the late Art Vidich, who originally urged me to join the ITVA, and to the inspiration of Franco Ferrarotti and Rick Tilman, scholars of the first rank, who persuaded me to believe that I might have something worthwhile to say about Veblen and politics. Of course, this collection would have been impossible without the heartfelt scholarly dedication and labor of its globe-spanning contributors. Their insight, effort and cooperation made my editorial work far more pleasurable than I originally imagined it might be. I am greatly beholden to them for such value as this collection may possess. Plaudits as well to Vincent Rajan and the production team at Anthem: their patient aid in guiding the manuscript through its final stages was as helpful as it was stress free. I remain deeply indebted to my colleagues in the Political Science Department of Vassar College. My turn toward writing and teaching about Veblen would likely not have developed without their support. Their welcoming of changes in a colleague’s intellectual direction speaks volumes about the department’s zealous commitment to freedom of inquiry and the adventure of learning. I owe an equal, perhaps greater, debt to my students. Their thirst for understanding politics—and Veblen too—has afforded me the greatest pleasure and reward of my teaching life. In more personal ways, my wife, Aura, deserves my infinite gratitude for her love. Her forbearance with my many grumbles amid the labor of writing merits equal thankfulness. I owe Nancy and David Gluck more thanks than I can enumerate, most of all for their enduring friendship through moments of pain as well as joy. Finally, I have dedicated this work to my children, Sam, Rachel, Joanna and my stepson, Joseph. Simply put, there is no greater reward for “the parental bent” than to watch children mature into responsible and generous human beings. They have privileged me to feel intensely what Veblen called “fullness of life.”
INTRODUCTION: THORSTEIN VEBLEN’S ELUSIVE PROJECT
Sidney Plotkin
Thorstein Veblen ranks among the more elusive but also rewarding and provocative thinkers in the classic tradition of social theory. Of course he is known best as the author of The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899 ) , as sharp witted a satire of upper-class folly as was ever penned. The book’s key concept of conspicuous consumption rooted itself in everyday language: millions who have never heard of Veblen use his term every day. But Veblen’s first book is more than a wisecracking comedy of manners. It is an early important statement of his essentially evolutionary, Darwinian approach to explaining social institutions. It also rests on the crucial Veblenian distinction between industry and exploit, an idea that evokes the anthropological outlook he applied throughout his later explorations of social behavior. So while the book is a resounding critique of Gilded-Age American values—Veblen loved to remind patriotic American readers of their rabid affection for the trappings of European aristocratic culture—the book’s theoretical preoccupations should not be underestimated. They show us that Veblen and his outlook were grounded in more than his efforts at satire of his American setting and rural Minnesota upbringing. Such elements, for all their formative influence, were just that, points of departure for an insatiable curiosity and an intellectual project that was fundamentally theoretical in character and direction.
Veblen emerged from rural Minnesota to engage with thinkers, ideas and modes of analysis that reflected the deep reservoir of Western thought. Paying little heed to disciplinary boundaries, his writings transcend formulaic distinctions between economics, sociology, politics and psychology. Veblen alerts his readers to institutional intersections, to associations and linkages, to the tissue and fiber of connections between material and cultural life and the ways these inform political habits and constraints. Here are the sources of Veblen’s provocation.
Human beings are creatures of habit, he never fails to remind us; we live and work within long-established institutional grooves. But for all that, Veblen sees human beings as creatures that act. Humans live by doing things, by adapting to changing circumstance, however belatedly, and not by pure rote either. “Man’s life is activity,” wrote Veblen, “and as he acts, so he thinks and feels” (1898, 85). 1 People modify their ways and means to meet pressures and changes in situation and environment. But not, as Karl Marx might say, just as we please. Prevailing habits and predominant institutions shape and channel our adaptive abilities; they keep us glued more or less to old ways even as we try to improve upon such old ways. Innovation bears inevitable legacies of anachronism. The Internet revolutionizes human communication, but its labyrinth of sites is filled with salesmanship, fabrication and pornographic exploitation. What technology enhances, predation contaminates.
Insistently—as often as not sardonically—Veblen put his method to work on behalf of an analysis of often self-impairing, self-defeating human action and pursuit. The life and future of th