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Thorstein Veblen—from nearby Nerstrand, a Carleton grad—coined the term “conspicuous consumption,” spent seven years basically in hiding, and wrote a book that still drives economic thought 120 years after it was published.
Economist and social scientist Thorstein Veblen has been called one of Americaâs most original and creative thinkers. His highly acclaimed treatise âThe Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutionsâ (1899) introduced the term âconspicuous consumption.â Veblenâs body of work remains seminal reading in understanding the modern consumer society and criticisms of capitalism. Thorstein Bunde Veblen was born on July 30, 1857, in Cato Township, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. He was the sixth of twelve children born to his parents, Thomas and Kari Bunde, ...