Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class

Link to e-text of Thorstein Veblen's classic treatment of the theory of the leisure class, published in 1899. Widely understood to be a satire, the treatment of the leisure class by this philosophy phd who retooled himself as one of the major theorists of the institutionalist school of economics is a challenging indictment of just about every social class. Nobody remains unscathed by the critical lens and conceptualizations of Veblen's critique. The last chapter on education--and particularly the place of the humanities in education--had me doubled over with both pain and pleasure. I have never before read Veblen, but am inspired now to look over his oeuvre.