"As a matter of selective necessity, man is……" — Thorstein Veblen
"As a matter of selective necessity, man is an agent. He is, in his own apprehension, a centre of unfolding impulsive activity-'teleological activity.' He is an agent seeking in every act the accomplishment of some concrete, objective, impersonal end. By force of being such an agent, he is possessed of a taste for effective work, and a distaste for futile effort."
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Thorstein Veblen
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36 Quotes by Thorstein Veblen
Thorstein Veblen has 36 quotes on this site.
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Only individuals with an aberrant temperament can in the long run retain their self-esteem in the face of the disesteem…
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In order to stand well in the eyes of the community, it is necessary to come up to a certain,…
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Loud dress becomes offensive to people of taste, as evincing an undue desire to reach and impress the untrained sensibilities…
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With the exception of the instinct of self-preservation, the propensity for emulation is probably the strongest and most alert and…
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The visible imperfections of hand-wrought goods, being honorific, are accounted marks of superiority in point of beauty, or serviceability, or…
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There are few things that so touch us with instinctive revulsion as a breach of decorum.
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Invention is the mother of necessity.
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In itself and in its consequences the life of leisure is beautiful and ennobling in all civilised men's eyes.
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The quasi-peaceable gentleman of leisure, then, not only consumes of the staff of life beyond the minimum required for subsistence…
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It is always sound business to take any obtainable net gain, at any cost, and at any risk to the…
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Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.
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All business sagacity reduces itself in the last analysis to judicious use of sabotage.
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