Towards a Critique of Imbecile Institutions. Thorstein Veblen on Political Economy and Anthropology

Abstract

This article aims to vindicate Thorstein Veblen’s social criticism, arguing that, in spite of the academic silence that it has been subjected to in the last decades, it is still valid. Most of Veblen’ work was focused on analyzing the irrational quid pro quo that characterized the economic logic of his time (which in many ways is still our time). Through some of its main analytical concepts (“leisure class”, “conspicuous consumption”, “vested interests”, “capitalist sabotage”, “absentee ownership”, “captains of industry”, etc.), Veblen’s thought has become unexpectedly relevant in our times due to the accelerated delegitimization of the dominant economic system. This article’s purpose is to outline the invisible thread that exists between Veblen’s “captain of industry” and the “entrepreneur” in the era of neoliberal capitalism, as a way to highlight anew the hermeneutical strength of his work.