The Leisure class in America
Description
The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1899), by Thorstein Veblen, is a treatise of economics and sociology, and a critique of conspicuous consumption as a function of social class and of consumerism, which are social activities derived from the social stratification of people and the division of labor; the social institutions of the feudal period (9th–15th c.) that have continued to the modern era. Veblen discusses how the pursuit and the possession of wealth affects human behavior, that the contemporary lords of the manor, the businessmen who own the means of production, have employed themselves in the economically unproductive practices of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure, which are useless activities that contribute neither to the economy nor to the material production of the useful goods and services required for the functioning of society. Instead, it is the middle class and working class who are usefully employed in the industrialised, productive occupations that support the whole of society.
How the series evolves
Books in this Series
The Decoration of Houses
The wave of recent attention to Edith Wharton as an arbiter of taste and correct usage in the making of domestic interior rooms and to Ogden Codman, Jr., as a revivalist architect of the first rank has made their reputations in those fields seem more secure than ever. Yet the original text of The Decoration of Houses continues without revision as an authentic classic; it can be argued that this book is the most important of its kind ever published. Its carefully reasoned chapters on such aspects of house interiors as fireplaces, ceilings and floors, halls and stairs, are of greatest value to professionals and serious amateurs concerned with interiors. This revised edition of "Wharton-Codman" includes several new features appended to the original text which indicate that the ideals of the authors have a lively continuing tradition - not only in private homes but in important new public interiors. In his introduction, Henry Hope Reed assays the current importance of The Decoration of Houses. And in a revealing and useful adaptation of a classroom lecture, the architect Alvin Holm carefully advises students (and others who may use this book) as to the best employment of The Decoration of Houses as a textbook.
Alma mater
At the start of senior year at William & Mary, the six-foot-tall, raven-haired beauty Victoria “Vic” Savedge finds her future mapped out in detail. She will marry Charly Harrison, the son of one of Virginia’s most prominent families. Though branded by a fiery streak of independence, Vic hasn’t really considered any other options. Until she meets a woman named Chris. A transfer from Vermont, Chris is new to Southern mores and attitudes. Though instantly captivated by Vic, she is also drawn to the entire quirky but charming Savedge family. But the young women’s friendship is not your basic college-girl variety. For neither can resist their mutual attraction–an attraction that erupts into a passion that will forever change the course of both their lives.