Here, humans were more commonly engaged in warfare with rival, neighbouring tribes and were forced to hunt large game for their subsistence. With population growth, Veblen argues that this relatively peaceable way of life gave way to a barbarian phase of society in which there was greater competition for resources. A modern hunter-gatherer tribe in Tanzania And there was no consistent or rigorous distinction between the types of work performed by different tribe members nor any clear differentiation on the basis of social class. Rather, possessions tended to be owned communally by the tribe. Private property, he asserts, was not a dominant feature of their social life. According to Veblen, these early human societies were mainly peaceable in nature they lived in harmony with the environment, subsisting on fruits and vegetables and the hunting of small animals. To understand the origins of our modern consumerist society, Veblen takes us on a historical journey through what he sees as the four major phases of human societal development, starting with the primitive hunter-gatherer societies that were built on familial and tribal ties.
For if we truly wish to redefine our relationship with the natural world and avert the impending ecological catastrophe, what better place to start than by identifying and recognising the forces driving our wasteful consumption? The Roots of our Modern Consumerist Society Indeed, it may only be in this century, when the environmental impacts of our consumerist lifestyles are being laid bare, that Veblen’s work will get the attention and recognition it deserves. In particular, his theory of “ conspicuous consumption” offers a convincing account of the social forces propelling our ever-increasing demand for material goods, property and wealth. Although Veblen wrote this work over a century ago, his analysis remains pertinent to understanding our consumerist culture in the West today. The American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen (1857 – 1929) is best known for his book the Theory of the Leisure Class which analysed social class divisions and consumerist culture in 19 th century America.
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