Thorstein Veblen: Short Bio & Economic Theories & Ideas Essay -- essay

     Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929) was born in Cato, Wisconsin. He attended Carleton College, as well as the universities of John Hopkins, Yale, and Cornell. He taught political economy and political economy from 1892 to 1918 at the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and the University of Misssouri. He retired in 1926 after working for seven days at New York Citys New School for companionable Research. He was noted for his significant analysis of our economic system and, by Mark Blaug, for his mastery of the art of satire.          Veblen went against the modern economic beliefs of his day. He identify a problem in our society that most did not. He notice that the industrialists increased production of goods by hiring engineers to improve efficiency. This, in turn, drove prices pile and cut profits, so the industry captains cut production to save profits. Ideas homogeneous this were prevalent in most of h is writings and economic theories.           Society, to Veblen, could be describe as a division of crime syndicatees. The "leisure class" and the "industrious class", the former being described as a predator, parasitic and unwholesome to society, and the latter being the members who produce goods. This mostly came from his most famous work, The theory of the Leisure Class, in which he coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption"...