Questioning the legitimacy of business ideology: revisiting Veblen’s theory of modern technology and engineers

Abstract

Each major work of Veblen is a theoretical step taken further towards the solution of the problem already posed in The Theory of the Leisure Class: the continuity of the habit of invidious comparison that renders humans self-centric agents. Veblen, by juxtaposing “technology experts” to the pecuniary class, sought to illustrate the likelihood of an institutional negation of invidious comparison, which may nullify the dominance of business in modern society and its reckless and futile end of accumulation of personal wealth.