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Interpreting Institutions' in Veblen's Evolutionary Theory
Author(s) -
Weed Frank J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
american journal of economics and sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1536-7150
pISSN - 0002-9246
DOI - 10.1111/j.1536-7150.1981.tb01372.x
Subject(s) - veblen good , institutional economics , neoclassical economics , meaning (existential) , social institution , sociology , heuristic , evolutionary economics , style (visual arts) , epistemology , action (physics) , positive economics , social science , economics , philosophy , geography , archaeology , physics , quantum mechanics
A bstract . The form and basic properties of Thorstein Veblen's evolutionary theory are analyzed as an interpretative strategy for understanding the social institutions of modern industrial society. By formulating hypothetical historical reconstructions based on his principles of social action and institutional transformation , Veblen creates an heuristic construction that serves as a formula for observation and analysis of what he finds to be the essential meaning of existing behavior. This gives to his work a critical style, but also a depth of analysis that has a degree of predictive validity.