Veblen’s Socioeconomic Cosmology
Cosmology, as commonly used, refers to the origin, structure, and science of the physical universe. It draws upon multiple foundational sciences, such as astronomy, physics, and astrophysics, to explain the big picture. Similarly, our human-made socioeconomic universe is a complex system of interconnected phenomena and disciplines. It is built upon underlying human biological and supra-biological […]
Veblen’s Naked Ape Socioeconomics
In 1967, Desmond Morris wrote The Naked Ape: A Zoologist’s Study of the Human Animal. In this work, Morris examined human behavioral patterns within the larger animal kingdom. He categorized these behaviors into six fundamental drives: sex, rearing, exploration, fighting, feeding, and comfort—each rooted in our evolutionary past yet expressed in the modern context of daily […]
Dr. Veblen, I Presume?
Like the explorer Henry Stanley searching for Dr. Livingstone in the African jungle, I, too, have spent years searching for the real Thorstein Veblen. Veblen was a prominent American economist who lived from 1857 to 1929. Today, he is remembered only by a small tribe of academics, primarily economists of the Institutional and Evolutionary schools […]
The Business of Business
As President Calvin Coolidge once said, “The business of America is business.” America loves enterprise. We view business with esteem and honor, and we strive to emulate it every day. We often see businesspeople as the caretakers of our socioeconomic well-being and as the force that produces the vast array of goods and services available […]