The Higher Learning as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture Summary and Analysis

"To the end that suitable habits of thought on certain heads may be conserved in the incoming generation, a scholastic discipline is sanctioned by the common sense of the community and incorporated into the accredited scheme of life" (Chap. 14, p. 363). Education results in the formation of habits and thoughts, and this has an economic value for the community. These different values are imparted by the institution and contribute to the doctrine of pecuniary merit. These institutions are where the ideals of the leisure class are learned and passed on to the culture.

Learning, according to Veblen, is closely related to observance of devotional functions. Learning is considered to be a form of vicarious leisure and is tied to the supernatural agent which he...