The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)

E195168

Marxist critique book non-fiction book

"The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)" is Nikolai Bukharin’s Marxist analysis and critical examination of Thorstein Veblen’s classic work on conspicuous consumption and class structure.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
The Theory of the Leisure Class	2
The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1724002 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)
Context triple: [Nikolai Bukharin, notableWork, The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)]

A. What Social Classes Owe to Each Other
"What Social Classes Owe to Each Other" is an 1883 collection of essays by sociologist William Graham Sumner that argues for limited government, individual responsibility, and laissez-faire economics in the relations between social classes.
B. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a foundational sociological work by Max Weber that explores how Protestant religious values, particularly Calvinism, helped shape the development of modern capitalist society.
C. The System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty
The System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty is an 1846 work by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon that offers a critical, dialectical analysis of capitalism and political economy from a socialist and anarchist perspective.
D. An Essay on the History of Civil Society
An Essay on the History of Civil Society is a 1767 work by Scottish philosopher Adam Ferguson that analyzes the development of human societies, social institutions, and civic virtue within the broader context of Enlightenment thought.
E. The Principles of Sociology
The Principles of Sociology is a foundational 19th-century work by Herbert Spencer that systematically applies evolutionary theory to the study and organization of human societies.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)
Target entity description: "The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)" is Nikolai Bukharin’s Marxist analysis and critical examination of Thorstein Veblen’s classic work on conspicuous consumption and class structure.

A. What Social Classes Owe to Each Other
"What Social Classes Owe to Each Other" is an 1883 collection of essays by sociologist William Graham Sumner that argues for limited government, individual responsibility, and laissez-faire economics in the relations between social classes.
B. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a foundational sociological work by Max Weber that explores how Protestant religious values, particularly Calvinism, helped shape the development of modern capitalist society.
C. The System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty
The System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty is an 1846 work by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon that offers a critical, dialectical analysis of capitalism and political economy from a socialist and anarchist perspective.
D. An Essay on the History of Civil Society
An Essay on the History of Civil Society is a 1767 work by Scottish philosopher Adam Ferguson that analyzes the development of human societies, social institutions, and civic virtue within the broader context of Enlightenment thought.
E. The Principles of Sociology
The Principles of Sociology is a foundational 19th-century work by Herbert Spencer that systematically applies evolutionary theory to the study and organization of human societies.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Marxist critique ⓘ book ⓘ non-fiction book ⓘ
about	Thorstein Veblen ⓘ
academicDiscipline	economics ⓘ philosophy ⓘ sociology ⓘ
aimsTo	demonstrate limits of non-Marxist class analysis ⓘ reassert centrality of production and exploitation ⓘ situate Veblen within bourgeois political economy ⓘ
analyzes	bourgeois society ⓘ capitalist class relations ⓘ
author	Nikolai Bukharin ⓘ
basedOn	The Theory of the Leisure Class ⓘ linked to: The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)
compares	Veblen’s analysis and Marx’s analysis of class ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	Soviet Union ⓘ
criticizes	Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption ⓘ Veblen’s treatment of class without reference to exploitation ⓘ institutional economics of Thorstein Veblen ⓘ
critiquesAspect	Veblen’s focus on consumption over production ⓘ Veblen’s neglect of surplus value ⓘ Veblen’s treatment of class as status rather than relation of production ⓘ
employsTheory	Marxist value theory ⓘ historical materialism ⓘ
focusesOn	ideological functions of consumption ⓘ role of leisure class in capitalism ⓘ
genre	literary criticism ⓘ political economy ⓘ sociological critique ⓘ
influencedBy	Friedrich Engels ⓘ Karl Marx ⓘ Vladimir Lenin ⓘ
intellectualContext	Soviet Marxist debates on bourgeois economics ⓘ
language	Russian ⓘ
mainSubject	analysis of conspicuous consumption ⓘ class structure under capitalism ⓘ critique of Thorstein Veblen ⓘ
movement	Marxism ⓘ Marxist political economy ⓘ
perspective	Marxist ⓘ
relatedWork	Historical Materialism ⓘ linked to: historical materialism Imperialism and World Economy ⓘ
targetAudience	Marxist theorists ⓘ critics of bourgeois sociology ⓘ students of political economy ⓘ
timePeriod	early 20th century ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Nikolai Bukharin → notableWork → The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary) ⓘ

The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary) → basedOn → The Theory of the Leisure Class ⓘ

linked to: The Theory of the Leisure Class (critique and commentary)

Thorstein Veblen → notableFor → The Theory of the Leisure Class ⓘ

subject linked to: Veblen