SOCI 230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Thorstein Veblen, Social Change, Conspicuous Consumption
8 May 2017
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Historical context that veblen analyzed was the post-civil war era characterized by: the rise of big business, anti-business social movement, increased military and imperialist nationalism in the us. Ve(cid:271)le(cid:374)"s (cid:1006) (cid:272)lass s(cid:455)ste(cid:373) suggests dire(cid:272)t (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:374)e(cid:272)tio(cid:374) (cid:449)ith mar(cid:454)"s theor(cid:455: predatory class: those who survived using manipulation, schemes, military force and economic speculation, industrious class: those who engaged in production of wealth by producing useful goods. Pragmatists consider the practical consequences or real effects that emerged from the way society is structured. Society: the intersection of economic activity and culture. These habits of mind have 3 characteristics: 1. They are assumed and not questioned: 2. They appear to be consistent with, and form the basis of, commonsense understanding among individuals: 3. They are resistant to change and tend to persist after the material conditions (forms of labor activity) that give rise to them have vanished. Labor activities become embodied in cultural norms and are passed on through the socialization process.
