The Theory of the Leisure Class, Paperback

A classic of sociology and economics, originally published in 1899

With exquisite irony, Veblen, the "best critic of America that America has produced" (C. Wright Mills), lays bare the hollowness of our canons of taste and culture.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About the Author:

Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) was a Norwegian-American sociologist and economist and a leader of the Efficiency Movement. In 1919, Veblen, along with Charles Beard, James Harvey Robinson and John Dewey, helped found the New School for Social Research (known today as New School University).

Robert Lekachman was a professor of economics at Lehman College, City University of New York, and is the author of The Age of Keynes and Capitalism for Beginners.