In his scathing The Theory of the Leisure Class , Thorstein Veblen produced a landmark study of affluent American society that exposes, with brilliant ruthlessness, the habits of production and waste that link invidious business tactics and barbaric social behavior. Veblen's analysis of the evolutionary process sees greed as the overriding motive in the modern economy, and with an impartial gaze he examines the human cost paid when social institutions exploit the consumption of unessential goods for the sake of personal profit. Fashion, beauty, animals, sports, the home, the clergy, scholars--all are assessed for their true usefulness and found wanting. Indeed, Veblen's critique covers all aspects of modern life from dress, class, the position of women, home decoration, industry, business, and sport, to religion, scholarship, and education. The targets of Veblen's coruscating satire are as evident today as they were a century ago, and his book still has the power to shock and enlighten. Martha Banta's introduction illuminates Veblen's uncompromising arguments as it highlights the literary force of Veblen's writing and its influence on later American writers such as Edith Wharton, Henry James, Dos Passos, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. She also sheds light on his critique of the plight of women and his evolutionary arguments as they relate to modern society.

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本书的主旨在于讨论作为现代生活中一个经济因素的有闲阶级的地位和价值，但是要把讨论严格地限制在这样标明的范围以内是办不到的。因此关于制度的起源和演进以及一般不列入经济学范围以内的一些社会生活特征，这里也不得不给以相当的注意。

《炫耀性消费(英汉双语)》的作者通过研究制度的起源，观察社会上的经济现象，尤其是上层阶层的有闲特权与消费特征，来探讨制度与经济现象之间的奥妙关系。书中对社会现象、消费行为、人类心理的剖析入木三分，阐明了习惯、文化和制度如何塑造人类行为，以及人类行为的变化怎样影响经济。同时又从有闲阶级的角度出发，阐明了这样一个主旨：什么是经济人的本质？社会为什么会产生有闲阶级？“有闲”本身的经济意义是什么？100多年过去了，相似的经济现象在世界各地，包括经济迅速发展的中国上演不衰，诸如人们对金融投资的热衷，对教育文化的重视，对时尚品牌的追逐，对享乐主义的崇尚……这本百年经典同样可以解释今天你我身边的经济现象。