Veblen's Radical Theory of Social Evolution

摘要

Thorstein Veblen wove two red threads into his tapestry of social theory—anarchism and socialism. They held his theoretical system—his tapestry—together. But they did not fit into the era of reformed capitalism that began a few years after his death in 1929. Veblen did not support reforming capitalism. He supported changing it into something else. The reformers that came after him, however, were not anarchists and socialists. They wanted to make capitalism good, and they wanted to use the existing state to do it. They did not want to change state-supported capitalism into anarchistic socialism. They wanted to stabilize the business cycle, humanize the workplace, and regulate the excesses of capitalism. When reforming capitalism moved to the top of the intellectual agenda, the red threads were cut out of Veblen's thought and it started unraveling. He started resembling a backwoods eccentric. (For a full analysis of Veblen's interpreters, reinterpreters, and critics see Tilman 1985, 1992, 1996, and 2003.) However, today (2006) the reforms of capitalism are being removed. Pure capitalism is being restored. Veblen should be, too.