The social psychology of business enterprise, of the leisure classes, of the machine process, of industry and workmanship have been indicated by Thorstein Veblen. The unique, incisive work of Mr. Veblen is presented in several books, chief of which are his Theory of the Leisure Class, Theory of Business Enterprise, and Instinct of Workmanship. Mr. Veblen’s ideas can best be illustrated by referring to his “canons.”
The Canon of Pecuniary Emulation describes the restless straining of certain individuals in society to outdo one another in the possession of wealth.[XXIII-63] Such possession is interpreted as conferring honor on its possessor. Wealth becomes intrinsically honorable. The Canon of Pecuniary Beauty refers to the impression that things are beautiful in proportion as they are costly.[XXIII-64] The marks of expensiveness come to be regarded as beautiful features.
The Canon of Conspicuous Consumption is a term which describes a method of showing off one’s wealth by an elaborate consumption of goods.[XXIII-65] Conspicuous consumption is seen more in matters of dress than in any other line of consumption. The Canon of Conspicuous Leisure is the rule which some people are following when they live a life of leisure as the readiest and most conclusive evidence of pecuniary strength.[XXIII-66] Sometimes a man keeps his wife frittering her time away in a doll’s house in order to show his wealth status.
The Canon of Leisure Class Conservatism is Veblen’s label for the conservative tendencies of the wealthy. Those whom fortune has greatly favored are likely to be content with things as they are. Such people are averse to social change, for social innovation might upset their comfortable existence. They have a dominant material interest in letting things alone.
Mr. Veblen’s Canon of Pecuniary Efficiency means that many persons conceive of efficiency largely in terms of price. The person who can induce his fellows to pay him well is accounted efficient and serviceable.[XXIII-67] The man who gains much wealth at little cost is rated high in his neighbor’s esteem. The investor who at the turn of his hand reaps $100,000 in a stock or bond deal is praised widely. In other words, there is a common tendency to rate people high in direct proportion to the amount of money that they are able to extract from the aggregate product.
The Canon of Bellicoseness refers to the enthusiasm for war which the hereditary leisure class displays. The very wealthy, not being obliged to work for a living, find that time drags. Therefore, they seek excitement and relief from ennui, and find these conditions in various things, especially in war.
The Canon of Pecuniary Education covers the tendency to demand “practical” education, which, upon examination, is education that will guarantee individual success. “Success,” for which education is to fit young people, turns out to be, in the eyes of the practical man, a pecuniary success. “Practical” means useful for private gain. The test that many persons would give to a course in education is this: Will it help one to get an income? The Canon of Pecuniary Thinking denotes that many occupations lead to habits of pecuniary thought. For numbers of people the beginning and end of their more serious thought is of a pecuniary nature.
The Canon of Machine Process Thinking is that mechanical employments produce a type of thinking that is based more or less on material cause and effect. The Machine knows neither morality nor dignity nor prescriptive right. The machine process laborers, working in a world of impersonal cause and effect, “are in danger of losing the point of view of sin.”
Professor Veblen has developed the concept of the instinct of workmanship at considerable length. According to this contention, it is natural for individuals to do, to construct, to achieve, to work. Through activity the individual expresses himself and, in so doing, develops, and attains happiness. Every individual is a center of unfolding impulsive activity; he is possessed of a taste for effective work.[XXIII-68] Labor acquires a character of irksomeness by virtue of the indignity that is falsely imputed to it by a hereditary leisure class.[XXIII-69] It was the instinct of workmanship which brought the life of mankind from the brute to the human plan.
The contributions of Mr. Veblen to social thought are always of a thought-provoking nature. Sometimes they give rise to invidious comparisons, often they antagonize, but as a rule, they are unique. No brief reference such as is given in the foregoing paragraphs can do justice to Mr. Veblen’s pungent criticisms of societal foibles.