Thorstein Veblen – 1857-1929

Veblen took an evolutionary approach to the analysis of economic institutions, publishing in 1899 The Theory of the Leisure Class, an economic study that verged on satire and that became a popular sensation with iconoclastic readers. Veblen coined the term—and concept—“conspicuous consumption” to describe spending habits among the well off, who customarily purchase items chiefly to exhibit and demonstrate their socioeconomic status.