The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions

English naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is best known for his work on evolutionary biology published in his seminal work On the Origin of the Species (1859). He was the first to propose that all life on Earth descended from a common ancestor (modern research proved this to be a single-celled microorganism), and this theory has become an established principle of science. Darwin’s theory on natural selection deeply influenced Veblen’s understanding of human evolution and social development. The phrase “survival of the fittest,” which is often attributed to Darwin, is actually a term coined by one of Darwin’s contemporaries, English sociologist Herbert Spencer. Western 19th-century colonialism and imperialism drew upon these quasi-scientific theories to rationalize their domination of Indigenous peoples on the African and Eurasian continents. Though pseudo-scientific theories of racism had existed since the early 17th century, Darwin’s concepts about natural selection, applied in a social context, provided further rationale for these theories. “Survival of the fittest” was also used to describe people who excelled in a society that prized strength and self-interest over compassion and sharing, which were seen as weaknesses.

Veblen reprises Darwinian language throughout his work, which by modern standards is outdated, racist, and disproven, most notably in his analysis of “ethnic types” in Chapter 9. His description of people with “predatory” instincts excelling in a capitalist society that promotes conspicuous consumption is a critique of societies, such as late-19th-century America, that encourage those attributes.