The Theory of the Leisure Class

Ce livre explique le problème de l'oisiveté ostentatoire et ces causes, le livre est encore, malheureusement, d'actualité

The font size is ridiculously small. The space between paragraphs is practically inexistent. The formatting is bad. If you don't mind getting a bad quality and hard to read book, go ahead. Otherwise avoid buying this.

A must-read, it's really more up-to-date than it could appear and so easy...I dived into the book during a personal research about luxury/consumistic theories and dissertations, couldn't find something better than this.The softshell version is a bargain for people who wants to just take a look and try something different from their reading habits.

I have found it quite amusing to read Veblen's book is depicted as a classic by those who like it (you know, considering that he, more than once, states that the appeal of classics is due largely to the leisure class scheme). Perhaps the unique, brilliant, at times repetitive and dull, at times invariably amusing, and always surprising tone and ideas Veblen has made their indelible mark, but I think that perhaps he would have said that those who admire his book solely as a classic cannot properly understand its message.From his anthropological analysis of the rise of the predatory and peaceable instincts to his ridicule of contemporary (ca. 1900) institutions and customs (I think his theories on clothing apparel, sports, and religion stand out) to his very serious critique of waste and exploit, Veblen wrote an incredibly interesting, unconventional theory. Undoubtedly, to my apprehension, direct and vicarious conspicuous waste (the most famous variant being direct conspicuous consumption) is the most interesting concept presented in the book, yet this is exclusively associated with the rich and what they do. No doubt, the rich's excesses must have been what prompted Veblen to write the book in the first place, but I think the more universal message is overlooked. He repeats this over and over: the leisure class scheme of life pervades society.I do not know if those who appreciate the book see that Veblen makes the case that conspicuous waste is EVERYWHERE. Those who command the scheme are those who we might identify to be the rich, sure, but how can we deny we are not all part of it? Veblen says that "any consumer who might, Diogenes-like, insist on the elimination of all honorific or wasteful elements from his consumption, would be unable to supply his most trivial wants in the modern market." To him, I am sure, stripes on a shirt would have seemed wasteful, and a regrettable vestige of some eccentric attempt at invidious pecuniary emulation. Veblen's notion of waste is constructed to be universal, but in varying gradations (which is why he identifies waste most prominently with the leisure class).All this being said, Veblen is quite far from being perfect. The book does consider that there are motives and actions that are not guided by the leisure class' predatory instinct, but is at times vague in dealing with such things. Moreover, some of his explanations are on occasion convoluted or simplified so as to make them fit his general framework. Notwithstanding, anyone who has any interest in reading a great theory about how the rich ultimately dictate many of society's customs and institutions by inciting the lesser instincts that make consumerism possible, or in being amused by a sardonic critique of how wasteful our society can be, should turn to this book.A word of caution: To make a point, Veblen uses a language that would be today considered tedious and cumbersome, perhaps needless and excessively verbose at times, so be ready to deal with that. (I think that, unless pointed out, the fact that it is inferable that Veblen does this to make a point might go unnoticed. At the end of the book he states that usage of proper, preferably archaic language is observed precisely because it is useful and not up to date; this language is preferred because they "argue waste of time and exemption from the use and the need of direct and forcible speech." The way in which he writes his book is the last, perhaps most subtle, sardonic bit of satire he offers us.)

Le classique de Veblen était jusqu'à ces jours absent de mon étagère. Il s'agit d'une lecture assez dynamique, nécessaire pour ceux qui veulent s'approfondir en sociologie économique, malgré la teneur un peu démodée de l'argument. (Peut-être n'est-il simplement qu'un peu trop cité, et pas assez lu) L'édition est simple, mais le texte est intégral. Un bon achat. Bon prix.