Thorstein Veblen was born on July 30, 1857 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He was of Norwegian heritage and until the day he died, he spoke with a strong accent. His family lived in Wisconsin for the early part of his life, but then moved to a farmstead in Minnesota. He attended Carleton College, and graduated with a bachelor of arts(B.A.) In 1880. Soon after he continued his education and graduated with a P.hD in philosophy form Yale University in 1884. Once he had accomplished this, his heart was set on teaching. He was unable to acquire and secure a position. This upset him, and discouraged from further advancement in his field, he moved back to his father’s farm in Minnesota, until he continued his academic career 12 years later. While in Minnesota, Veblen read a tremendous amount, and in 1888, he married Ellen Rolfe. She was th
Intending to integrate political economy into the general movement of science, Veblen discussed the evolution of the scientific point of view, the place of science within the framework of civilization, and the function of evolution within political economy. Although Veblen was strongly impressed by the doctrine of evolution, he was opposed to the simple application of the evolutionary principles to the study of social development. He was also strongly opposed to positivism, and relied more upon German idealism .Veblen was inspired by Marx and criticized him. He was an enthusiast of the idea of promoting industrial production by social political changes. Also, he was considered the capitalist unfit to achieve technical progress, and he advocated recruitment of industrial leaders from the classes of workers. His book “The Theor