Books like The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen

Freakonomics reveals how hidden incentives shape everyday life, from crime to education, using data-driven insights that challenge conventional wisdom.

Learn ancient Babylonian principles for building, growing, and preserving wealth in this timeless classic on personal finance.

Adam Smith’s seminal 1776 treatise that laid the groundwork for modern economic theory, presented here in a reprint of Edwin Cannan’s 1904 edition with a new preface by economist George J. Stigler.

Isabel Wilkerson unveils America’s hidden caste system, linking it to India’s and Nazi Germany’s hierarchies, and examines how power, identity, and health are shaped by this unseen structure.

Guy Debord’s classic critique of contemporary capitalism explains how everyday life has become dominated by images, advertising, and media, reshaping modern society.

Explore how hidden psychological forces shape our economic decisions, from personal finance to the 2008 crisis, with Dan Ariely’s behavioral economics insights.

A discussion by a reknown economist, Galbraith, about the "more" society and how it operates.

C. Wright Mills’ 1956 classic examines how a tight-knit group of legislators, corporate leaders and military officers wield power to shape national decisions, sidelining genuine democracy.

"This new edition of Will Kymlicka's best selling critical introduction to contemporary political theory has been fully revised to include many of the most significant developments in Anglo-American political philosophy in the last 11 years, particularly the new debates on political liberalism, deliberative democracy, civic republicanism, nationalism, and cultural pluralism." "The book now includes two new chapters on citizenship theory and multiculturalism, in addition to updated chapters on utilitarianism, liberal egalitarianism, libertarianism, Marxism, communitarianism, and feminism. Extended guides to further reading have been added at the end of each chapter, listing the most important books and articles on each school of thought, as well as relevant journals and web sites."--BOOK JACKET.

The classic introduction to economic thought, now updated in time for the publication of New Ideas from Dead CEOsThis entertaining and accessible introduction to the great economic thinkers throughout history Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and moreshows how their ideas still apply to our modern world. In this revised edition, renowned economist Todd Buchholz offers an insightful and informed perspective on key economic issues in the new millennium: increasing demand for energy, the rise of China, international trade, aging populations, health care, and the effects of global warming. New Ideas from Dead Economists is a fascinating guide to understanding both the evolution of economic theory and our complex contemporary economy.

The award-winning Black Wealth / White Wealth offers a powerful portrait of racial inequality based on an analysis of private wealth. Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiros' groundbreaking research analyzes wealth -total assets and debts rather than income alone -to uncover deep and persistent racial inequality in America, and they show how public policies have failed to redress the problem. First published in 1995, Black Wealth / White Wealth is considered a classic exploration of race and inequality. It provided, for the first time, systematic empirical evidence that explained the racial inequality gap between blacks and whites. The Tenth Anniversary edition contains two entirely new and substantive chapters. These chapters look at the continuing issues of wealth and inequality in America and the new policies that have been launched in the past ten years. Some have been progressive while others only recreate inequality -for example the proposal to eliminate the estate tax.Compelling and also informative, Black Wealth / White Wealth is not just pioneering research. It is also a powerful counterpoint to arguments against affirmative action and a direct challenge to current social welfare policies that are tilted towards the wealthy.

"In today's world, the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite. Highly educated and defined by cultural capital rather than income bracket, these individuals earnestly buy organic, carry NPR tote bags, and breast-feed their babies. They care about discreet, inconspicuous consumption--like eating free-range chicken and heirloom tomatoes, wearing organic cotton shirts and TOMS shoes, and listening to the Serial podcast. They use their purchasing power to hire nannies and housekeepers, to cultivate their children's growth, and to practice yoga and Pilates. In The Sum of Small Things, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett dubs this segment of society "the aspirational class" and discusses how, through deft decisions about education, health, parenting, and retirement, the aspirational class reproduces wealth and upward mobility, deepening the ever-wider class divide. Exploring the rise of the aspirational class, Currid-Halkett considers how much has changed since the 1899 publication of Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class. In that inflammatory classic, which coined the phrase 'conspicuous consumption,' Veblen described upper-class frivolities: men who used walking sticks for show, and women who bought silver flatware despite the effectiveness of cheaper aluminum utensils. Now, Currid-Halkett argues, the power of material goods as symbols of social position has diminished due to their accessibility. As a result, the aspirational class has altered its consumer habits away from overt materialism to more subtle expenditures that reveal status and knowledge. And these transformations influence how we all make choices. With a rich narrative and extensive interviews and research, The Sum of Small Things illustrates how cultural capital leads to lifestyle shifts and what this forecasts, not just for the aspirational class but for everyone"--