Thorstein Veblen  From New World Encyclopedia Jump to:
navigation, search  Norwegian-American economist and sociologist
Thorstein Veblen  Thorstein Bunde Veblen (July 30, 1857 – August
3, 1929) was an American sociologist and economist who applied
the evolutionary approach to the study of economic institutions.
His first book The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), embodying
his main ideas, became a classic that continues to be popular.
Despite this success, Veblen did not achieve academic respect.
His critical, often contemptuous, approach to university life,
his marital problems, together with his lack of popularity as a
teacher drove him out of academia. Veblen's pessimism prevented
him from participating in social or political action, even
though he had creative and valuable insights into social and
economic problems.    Thorstein Bunde Veblen was born Tosten
Bunde Veblen on July 30, 1857 in Cato, Wisconsin, into a family
of Norwegian immigrants. His nephew, Oswald Veblen became a
famous mathematician. Th