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Veblen and the Political Economy of the Engineer

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  • Donald R. Stabile

Abstract

. Thorstein Veblen's case for a Technocracy, “The Engineers and the Price System,” has long posed an enigma: Why would a thinker as radical as Veblen align himself with a group as conservative as engineers? But engineers themselves had developed a political economy with important points in common with Veblen's analysis. Starting from their positions as technological experts in corporations, engineers came to believe that business methods were not efficient for production; this belief led them to develop systems of scientific management as an antidote to old‐style management. Later, they expanded these ideas into a system of social management called Technocracy. This system of Technocracy represented an engineering effort at formulating an industrial democracy, with the cooperation of labor. Veblen was able to write a more systematic version of these ideas, because they fit in well with his own theoretical analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Donald R. Stabile, 1986. "Veblen and the Political Economy of the Engineer," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 41-52, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:45:y:1986:i:1:p:41-52
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1536-7150.1986.tb01899.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Octavian-Dragomir Jora & Matei-Alexandru Apãvãloaei & Andreas Stamate-?tefan & Vlad I. Rosca & Rodica Gherghina, 2020. "“Citadel of Science” and “Cathedral of Conscience”: The University, as Institution, Was Born to Be Concerned with Sustainable Knowledge, Long Before Sustainability Became a Universal Concern," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(54), pages 312-312, April.
    2. Warr, Benjamin & Ayres, Robert U., 2012. "Useful work and information as drivers of economic growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 93-102.
    3. Sergio Mariotti, 2021. "Forging a new alliance between economics and engineering," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 48(4), pages 551-572, December.
    4. David Reisman, 2012. "The Social Economics of Thorstein Veblen," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14374.

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