Thorstein Veblen：The Theory of the Leisure Class, Excerpt 93

From this proposition it follows that the institution of a leisure class acts to make the lower classes conservative by withdrawing from them as much as it may of the means of sustenance, and so reducing their consumption, and consequently their available energy, to such a point as to make them incapable of the effort required for the learning and adoption of new habits of thought. The accumulation of wealth at the upper end of the pecuniary scale implies privation at the lower end of the scale. It is a commonplace that, wherever it occurs, a considerable degree of privation among the body of the people is a serious obstacle to any innovation.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/833
Locator：Excerpt 93 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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