The politicization of the concept of culture in institutionalist theory: Thorstein Veblen and the anthropologists of his time

Abstract

The concept of culture was central to the development of the social and human sciences in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is also at the root of the school of economic thought known as American Institutionalism, which was pioneered by Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929). Through the reading of classical texts and literature review, the aim of this text is to present the contemporary "anthropological thinking" to Veblen, mainly around the concept of culture and method in anthropology in its early days, and to discuss the interdisciplinary relationships that give rise to the institutionalist school of thought, explaining the resumption of the Veblenian approach in recent years, especially in studies on consumption. As main results it is noteworthy that Veblen used similar investigative instruments, establishing dialogue with the writings of ethnologists and influencing others, having guided the understanding about culture, mainly through the critique of “high culture”, which marked the history of American Institutionalism.