Meskov A.I.
The 150th Anniversary of T. Veblen: Evolution of Institutional
Ideas.
The article
reminds us about the scientific heritage of Thorstein Veblen
(1857–1929). Most
of his ideas appeared to be important for modern Russian economy. The
wasteful
consumer behavior, aggressive, non-competent and in some way,
anti-social
economic behavior of what T. Veblen called 'the Leisure Class' often
contradicts the needs of the whole Russian society. The development of
financial markets and further separation between ownership and
management – a
so-called 'Virtual Economy' has made it imperative to study the
phenomenon of
'Absentee Ownership'. T. Veblen has concentrated his theoretical
analysis on
the contradictions between 'the Leisure Class' and industry, natural
and
demonstrative demand, producing and money-grabbing types of economic
behavior.
The author of this article is sure that the ideas of T. Veblen are
still actual
nowadays.
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