Institutional Law and Economics: The Legal-Economic Nexus

  In chapter 3 entitled "The Savage State of the Industrial Arts", Veblen starts with his well known notion of the community stock of technological knowledge or as he often refers to it immaterial equipment. Well before Paul Romer and his Nobel prize, Veblen understood that economic growth and change was driven by changes in tools and know-how of humanity. Veblen's approach acknowledges that individuals come up with changes in tools use and ideas but that these individuals are immersed in a social and community setting.  This is the key connection that Veblen makes.  Individuals do have agency and do act but at the same time are immersed in a deep social network or setting that drives to some extent what we think about and our decision making processes.   There are a few underlying points or details that Veblen is at pains to make in this overall discussion.He points to the fact that at times certain specialists will be brought to bear.  And yet, he still argues...

  Veblen on page 89 reintroduces the idea of parental bent. Again, this is the instinct that drives people to consider the welfare of others not just their own children and the welfare of the community into the future.  He also remarks that this instinct was stronger before the advent of a pecuniary society and private property ownership. Veblen also references that this instinct drives a desire to minimize wasted effort. However, in a reference back to his book the Theory of the Leisure Class , notes that “conspicuous waste” is a countervailing instinct that may intervene as societies develop over time. Finally, Veblen again refers to the fact that parental bent and compassion may be useful in advancing the usefulness of biological and agricultural human ventures but not in the mechanical arts. From here, Veblen spends a considerable amount of time extolling the virtues of women in  terms of the parental bent and their for animals and crops.  He seems to refer in fa...

  Veblen starts this next section with a logical question: How is that some contamination can occur in workmanship that actually perverts its own ends? He suggests that workmanship itself is part of the problem as its method of cause and effect may at times in error connect certain causes which are not in effect real causes.  The second issue that occurs whereby Veblen introduces a new instinct which he calls idle curiosity.  He defines this as, “which men, more or less insistently, want to know things, when graver interests do not engross their attention”. (Veblen, pg. 85, 1904).  It is really the essence of a creative instinct in many ways. How does play into the problems of the contamination of instincts? Veblen first starts with the point that this is a very influential instinct but may be in the background in many cases where more urgent issues arise. He also points to the fact that it is likely that only certain individuals in a community have an overabundance ...

  In this section, Veblen states by talking about the impact of portraying mechanical and biological material as having human purpose in the form of anthropomorphism. He writes that this type of activity can have harmful or degrading impact in terms of humans working with mechanical type materials.  He is less negative about the impact on biological life.  In fact, he essentially argues that there may even be some beneficial impacts from a certain type of anthropomorphism when working with plants and animals. As a point of reference, I can see how Clarence Ayres would interpret Veblen as saying there is a strict dichotomy between technology and ceremony.  While Veblen's words do allow for some degree of nuance, it must be remarked that he is generally of mind that humans make more progress,especially in the mechanical arts, when anthropomorphism and other ceremonial or even religious ways of thinking or habits of mind are reduced or eliminated. That said, it is also ...