Veblen's Instinct of Workmanship pg. 63 - 73

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 In this first section of our reading today, Veblen acknowledges that the impact of ceremony on tool using will vary by the type of activity being undertaken.    This first set of paragraphs immediately points to relative degree of ceremony versus industry comparison if we want to sue that terminology.  
this is opposed to the typical depiction which seems to be that ceremony and industry are simply opposed parts of a binary dichotomy. Veblen also notes how slow the development of human using tools seems to be in general.

The next section points to the issue of the "state of the industrial arts", a term Veblen will constantly use throughout his writings to indicate the state of tools and technology in a human society.  The rest of this section highlights differences between various cultures in terms of their development and uptake of tools and technology.  He discusses the native culture of the northern Arctic and how they were able to develop appropriate tools and technology even given their harsh environmental conditions. another example he provides is the Native American ability to grow and select many new crop varieties using an innate sense of genetics.

There is perhaps a larger point that can be taken from this section.  Veblen's argument seems to b developing that there will be difference sin tool development across human societies. This difference is very much conditioned by the environmental circumstances facing these societies.  He mostly seems to be arguing that there is no inherent superiority of any race or ethnicity over another, the material culture simply develops in adaption of external conditions.  Perhaps most importantly, Veblen does not appear to be completely negative towards ceremony and ceremonial functions as depicted by later thinkers.  While not pointing to the positive aspects of ceremony, he does acknowledge that there are differences in the relative impact of ceremony on industry.


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