Abstract

Veblen used anthropological data as evidence to support and to develop his economic theory. He adopted many of Marx's categories and assumptions to explain the problems of modern capitalist society. Among them were class, alienation, and the essential benevolence of man. Unlike Marx, however, Veblen believed that man has to comprehend before he can act. Man can also not tolerate the disenchantment caused by a purely scientific and rational understanding of the world. Thus, man has a propensity to view the world anthropomorphically, and this separates him from reality. In addition, the instinct toward workmanship which enables man to produce goods to improve his world, also generates new perceptions of and desires for ownership and status. From his study of emulation and comparison among primitive peoples, Veblen concluded that alienation results from the forces of production rather than of consumption