Editing Thorstein Veblen (section)

{{Short description|American economist and sociologist (1857–1929)}}
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{{Infobox economist
| name  = Thorstein Veblen
| image = Veblen3a.jpg
| birth_name = Thorstein Bunde Veblen
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1857|07|30}}
| birth_place = [[Cato, Wisconsin]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1929|08|03|1857|07|30}}
| death_place = [[Menlo Park, California]], U.S.
| field = Economics, [[socioeconomics]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Carleton College]] | [[Johns Hopkins University]] | [[Yale University]] | [[Cornell University]]}}
| institutions = {{ubl|[[Cornell University]] | [[University of Chicago]] | [[Stanford University]] | [[University of Missouri]]|[[The New School for Social Research]]}}
| influences = [[Herbert Spencer]], [[Thomas Paine]], [[William Graham Sumner]], [[Lester Frank Ward|Lester F. Ward]], [[William James]], [[Georges Vacher de Lapouge]], [[Edward Bellamy]], [[John Dewey]], [[Gustav von Schmoller]], [[John Bates Clark]], [[Henri de Saint-Simon]], [[Charles Fourier]]
| contributions = [[Conspicuous consumption]], [[conspicuous leisure]], [[trained incapacity]], [[Veblenian dichotomy]] 
| signature = 
| school_tradition = [[Institutional economics]]
}}

'''Thorstein Bunde Veblen''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|θ|ɔːr|s|t|aɪ|n|_|ˈ|v|ɛ|b|l|ən}};<ref>[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/veblen "Veblen"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was an American [[Economics|economist]] and [[Sociology|sociologist]] who, during his lifetime, emerged as a well-known [[Criticism of capitalism|critic of capitalism]].

In his best-known book, ''[[The Theory of the Leisure Class]]'' (1899), Veblen coined the concepts of ''[[conspicuous consumption]]'' and ''[[conspicuous leisure]]''. Veblen laid the foundation for the perspective of [[institutional economics]]. Contemporary economists still theorize Veblen's distinction between "institutions" and "technology", known as the Veblenian dichotomy.

As a leading intellectual of the [[Progressive Era]] in the US, Veblen attacked [[production for profit]]. His emphasis on conspicuous consumption greatly influenced economists who engaged in non-[[Marxism|Marxist]] critiques of [[fascism]], [[capitalism]], and [[technological determinism]].