At 19:51 25/09/2011, REH wrote:
Were you the one who wrote that article on Veblen ten years ago?
No, because I was only vaguely aware of Veblen in a sociological
context then and was only interested in economics in a roundabout
way. I was beginning to develop my own ideas about the importance of
status in consumer economics (as being important for jobs) and
unaware of what Veblen had been saying about habits at the top end.
It was a bit of a jolt to my pride that, essentially, Veblen had got
there first! To a lesser extent the same applied when I subsequently
discovered similar insights by Fred Hirsch and Robert Franks (both
being brilliant economists but not polymaths as Veblen was). But none
of them had generalized the idea to it being extended all the way
down socially from the top to the bottom and to the whole
motivational chain of consumer goods of the industrial revolution
(which I now think has become largely stabilized in spending terms
except for replacement goods and tartification) -- this being another
aspect of what I now see as the dawning of a steady-state economy in
the advanced countries with significant innovation applying mainly to
the production side of the economy.
REH
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sandwichman
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 2:30 PM
To: Keith Hudson
Cc: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, , EDUCATION
Subject: Re: [Futurework] Professional Ethics (of economists)
On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 11:04 AM, Keith Hudson
<<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]> wrote:
But, usually, it is quite clear what next to buy according to the
fashion of one's social status, or the one above if one is a social climber.
Ah, Veblen!
--
Sandwichman
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Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com/2012/08/
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