The Theory of the Leisure Class

"So soon as a case of reversion to non-predatory human nature shows itself on these upper levels, it is commonly weeded out and thrown back to the lower pecuniary levels. In order to hold its place in the class, a stock must have the pecuniary temperament; otherwise its fortune would be dissipated and it would presently lose caste."

"In the early barbarian, or predatory stage proper, the test of fitness was prowess, in the naive sense of the word. To gain entrance to the class, the candidate had to be gifted with clannishness, massiveness, ferocity, unscrupulousness, and tenacity of purpose. These were the qualities that counted toward the accumulation and continued tenure of wealth."

"The dominant traits of the early barbarian leisure class were bold aggression, an alert sense of status, and a free resort to fraud."

"In the later barbarian culture society attained settled methods of acquisition and possession under the quasi-peaceable regime of status. Simple aggression and unrestrained violence in great measure gave place to shrewd practice and chicanery, as the best approved method of accumulating wealth."

"Masterful aggression, and the correlative massiveness, together with a ruthlessly consistent sense of status, would still count among the most splendid traits of the class. These have remained in our traditions as the typical "aristocratic virtues." But with these were associated an increasing complement of the less obtrusive pecuniary virtues; such as providence, prudence, and chicanery. As time has gone on, and the modern peaceable stage of pecuniary culture has been approached, the last-named range of aptitudes and habits has gained in relative effectiveness for pecuniary ends, and they have counted for relatively more in the selective process under which admission is gained and place is held in the leisure class. ...What remains of the predatory barbarian traits is the tenacity of purpose or consistency of aim which distinguished the successful predatory barbarian from the peaceable savage whom he supplanted."

"In point of natural endowment the pecuniary man compares with the delinquent in much the same way as the industrial man compares with the good-natured shiftless dependent. The ideal pecuniary man is like the ideal delinquent in his unscrupulous conversion of goods and persons to his own ends, and in a callous disregard of the feelings and wishes of others and of the remoter effects of his actions; but he is unlike him in possessing a keener sense of status, and in working more consistently and farsightedly to a remoter end."

"War is the chief instrument by means of which the ruling classes create the state and fix their hold upon the state. These ruling classes, whatever their military animus or origin, alternate their outbursts of prowess with periods devoted to what Veblen in his Theory of the Leisure Class called the ritual of conspicuous waste."

"Veblen's first and most popular book was The Theory of the Leisure Class... The leisure class is characterized by conspicuous consumption, a propensity to avoid useful work, and conservatism. ...Veblen held that the leisure class is engaged in the predatory seizure of goods without working for them. ...[T]hey wish to consume in a way that displays their wealth... power, prestige, honor, and success... In order to be reputable, such consumption must be wasteful. Poorer people... even their pattern of spending includes an element of wasteful conspicuous consumption. Their outlook... imposed by the dominant leisure class. ...Members of the leisure class must avoid useful productive work. They must indulge only in wasteful or useless tasks... Veblen asserted that the evolution of social structure has been a process of natural selection of institutions. Progress can be attributed to the survival of the fittest habits of thought and the enforced adaptation... to a changing environment. ...A portion or class of society that is sheltered... will adapt its views more slowly... and... retard... social change. The wealthy social class is... sheltered... with respect to economic forces that make for change... The characteristic attitude of this class..."Whatever is, is right." But the law of natural selection... asserts..."Whatever is, is wrong." ...[C]urrent institutions ...do not change quickly enough to be in tune with the times."