1st Edition
Essential Writings of Thorstein Veblen
The 38 selections in the volume include complete texts of all of Veblen’s major articles and book reviews from 1882 to 1914, plus key chapters from his books The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899), The Theory of Business Enterprise (1904) and The Instinct of Workmanship (1914). These writings present a wide range of Veblen’s most significant contributions, especially with respect to the philosophical and psychological foundations of economics, sociology, and other social sciences.
A thorougly comprehensive volume, this is the only collection to present Veblen’s writings in chronological order, so that their development can be correctly understood. The volume is edited by a leading sociologist and a prominent economist, who provide extensive introductory essays which include item-by-item commentaries that place each selection in its intellectual-historical context and in relation to subsequent developments in economics. It makes for a valuable source of reference both for students and researchers alike.
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General Introduction Part I: The Early Works 1. Introduction 2. ‘Mill’s Theory of the Taxation of Land’ (1882) (Johns Hopkins University Circulars) 3. ‘Kant’s Critique of Judgment’ (1884) (Journal of Speculative Philosophy) 4. ‘Some Neglected Points in the Theory of Socialism’ (1891) (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science) 5. ‘Böhm-Bawerk’s Definition of Capital and the Source of Wages’ (1892) (Quarterly Journal of Economics) 6. ‘The Food Supply and the Price of Wheat’ (1893) (Journal of Political Economy) 7. Review of The Land-Systems of British India by B.H. Baden-Powell (1893) (Journal of Political Economy) 8. Review of Der Parlamentarismus, die Volksgesetzgebung und die Socialdemokratie by Karl Kautsky (1894) (Journal of Political Economy) 9. ‘The Economic Theory of Women’s Dress" (1894) (Popular Science Monthly) 10. Review of Socialisme et Science Positive by Enrico Ferri (1896) (Journal of Political Economy) 11. Review of Einfuhrung in den Socialismus by Richard Calwer (1897) (Journal of Political Economy) 12. Review of Essais sur la conception matérialiste de l’histoire by Antonio Labriola (1897) (Journal of Political Economy) 13. Review of Die Marxistische Socialdemokratic by Max Lorenz (1897) (Journal of Political Economy) 14. Review of Über einige Grundfragen der Socialpolitik und der Volkswirtschaftslehre by Gustav Schmoller (1898) Journal of Political Economy) 15. Review of Aristocracy and Evolution: A Study of the Rights, the Origins and the Social Functions of the Wealthier Classes by William H. Mallock (1898) (Journal of Political Economy) Part II: The Flowering of Veblenian Theory 16. ‘Why Is Economics Not an Evolutionary Science?’ (1898) (Quarterly Journal of Economics) 17. ‘The Instinct of Workmanship and the Irksomeness of Labor’ (1898) (American Journal of Sociology) 18. The Beginnings of Ownership’ (1898) (American Journal of Sociology) 19. ‘The Barbarian Status of Women’ (1899) (American Journal of Sociology) 20. ‘The Preconceptions of Economic Science,’ Parts I, II, III (1899-1900) (Quarterly Journal of Economics) 21. Review of The Development of English Thought: A Study in the Economic Interpretation of History by Simon N. Patten (1899) (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science) 22. The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study in the Evolution of Institutions, Chapter 8 (1899) Part III: Critiques and Further Developments 23. Introduction 24. ‘Mr. Cummings’s Strictures on "The Theory of the Leisure Class" (1899) Journal of Political Economy) 24. Review of Social Laws: An Outline of Sociology by Gabriel Tarde (1900) (Journal of Political Economy) 25. ‘Industrial and Pecuniary Employments’ (1901) (Publications of the American Economic Association) 26. ‘Gustav Schmoller’s Economics’ (1901) (Quarterly Journal of Economics) 27. Review of Psychologie économique by Gabriel Tarde (1902) (Journal of Political Economy) 28. Review of Der moderne Kapitalismus by Werner Sombart (1903) (Journal of Political Economy) 29. Review of Pure Sociology: A Treatise Concerning the Origin and Spontaneous Development of Society by Lester Ward (1903) (Journal of Political Economy) 30. The Theory of Business Enterprise, Chapter 7 (1904) Part IV: The Penultimate Period 31. Introduction 32. ‘The Place of Science in Modern Civilisation’ (1906) (American Journal of Sociology) 33. ‘The Socialist Economics of Karl Marx and His Followers,’ Parts I & II (1906-07) (Quarterly Journal of Economics) 34. ‘Professor Clark’s Economics’ (1908) (Quarterly Journal of Economics) 35. ‘The Evolution of the Scientific Point of View’ (1908) (University of California Chronicle) 36. ‘On the Nature of Capital I,’ Parts I & II (1908) (Quarterly Journal of Economics) 37. ‘Fisher’s Capital and Income’ & ‘Fisher’s Rate of Interest’ (1908-09) (Political Science Quarterly) 38. ‘The Limitations of Marginal Utility’ (1909) (Journal of Political Economy) 39. ‘The Mutation Theory and the Blond Race’ (1913) (Journal of Race Development) 40. The Instinct of Workmanship, and the State of the Industrial Arts, Chapters 1 & 2 (1914) Epilogue: Veblen’s Writings after 1914
Biography
Charles Camic is John Evans Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University. Previously, he was Martindale-Bascom Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Geoffrey M. Hodgson is a Research Professor in Business Studies at the University of Hertfordshire. He is an academician of the Academy of Social Sciences and the author of of over 100 academic journal articles, as well as having written numerous books.
"There is today a renaissance of interest in the writings of the great institutional economists who were prominent in the first part of the 20th century, and then faded from view as neoclassical economics took over the field. Among these, the writings of Thorstein Veblen are perhaps the most interesting and most relevant to reflection on the current state of economics. This volume, which makes many of his writings readily available, is most welcome."
Professor Richard Nelson, Columbia University, New York, USA
"This selection of Veblen’s essays, edited by two leading institutional scholars, is particularly welcome. After a crisis of the economy and after an evident crises of the economics which is supposed to explain it, many scholars are looking for alternative approaches which were abandoned for empty formalistic and a-historical theories. Re-reading these essays by Veblen can greatly contribute to the success of their efforts. They show how economics could be an evolutionary science which helps to understand and transform real-life economic systems."
Professor Ugo Pagano, University of Siena, Italy
"Geoff Hodgson and Charles Camic have produced an extremely interesting and valuable collection of Thorstein Veblen’s writings, originally published between 1882 and 1914. The collection is designed to provide insight in to the development of Veblen’s central and essential ideas, hence the chronological arrangement, the focus on work up to 1914, and the valuable commentaries provided on the texts. This book supersedes all previous collections of Veblen’s writings, and is an essential tool for Veblen scholars."
Professor Malcolm Rutherford, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
"When reading the pieces in this fine selection of Veblen's writings it comes as a major surprise how intellectually stimulating Veblen is to the present day. Camic and Hodgson deserve praise for laying out before our eyes the enormous scope of Veblen's thought. Readers will find this selection an excellent guide to Veblen's legacy for economics and social sciences more broadly."
Professor Ulrich Witt, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany
