Law in Contemporary Society

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VeblenIfYouGiveAMouseACookie 11 - 07 Apr 2010 - Main.JohnAlbanese
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 Did you ever think capitalism might end because it was too… successful? Veblen offers this possibility.

Specifically, Veblen seems to define capitalism as the creation of conspicuous consumption. The higher classes accumulate profit to devote themselves to conspicuous consumption. Everyone emulates everyone who is higher than them in the social hierarchy. The lower classes emulate the higher classes by consuming as conspicuously as they possibly can. As capitalism progresses and the manifestations of conspicuous consumption grow in number, Veblen seems to say the lower classes may begin to feel like they are getting poorer and poorer comparatively. This feeling might be so strong that capitalism itself is overthrown.

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 You're right, sorry. After class it became clear to me that I've been mistaken in thinking of evolution as some kind of normative progress. (I was conflating evolution with advancement in technology and the sciences.) In everyday life, though, isn't evolution normatively portrayed? Isn't this image meant to invoke a feeling of "look how far we've come"? Anyway, this is more a random aside...

-- KalliopeKefallinos - 06 Apr 2010

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Reading Veblen reminded me of Eben's quick point about the importance of knowing if you have "enough." If you don't know where that line is, as long as other people who you consider to be your peers have more, you will never be happy. Or to put it in other words, the mouse will definitely ask for a glass of milk if his friends already have one.

-- JohnAlbanese - 07 Apr 2010

 
 
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