Thorstein Veblen: The independent thinker whose contributions advanced a distinct tradition of heterodox economics

Abstract

Challenging Charles Camic’s perspective, this article argues that Thorstein Veblen’s
time at the top amounted to about nineteen years; a fraction of his professional career.
While drawing from and building upon challenges associable with a changing world which
he faced – related to the ending of Laissez-faire and the rise of big business; the institutions
initiated for prosecuting World War I; and the accompanying rise of the vested interests – Veblen’s
writings effectively and propitiously provided a solid foundation for an American
school of heterodox thought known as Original Institutional Economics.

JEL Classification: B15; B31; B41.