TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lorek, Sylvia
T1  - Veblen’s contribution to the analysis of (un-) sustainable consumption - Overvalued and underestimated
JF  - European Journal of Economic and Social Systems
N2  - Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption is often cited to explain why consumption habits in our consumer societies tend to be unsustainable and ever increasing. However, much more than blaming individual consumption habits Veblen sharply analyzed quite some of the societal and economic forces which drive the framework conditions for un-sustainable consumption: the vested interests and the absentee ownership. The paper follows the path Veblen’s thoughts have taken trough economic and social literature over the last centuryand highlights how the actual sustainable consumption debate could make better use of Veblen’s insights e.g. in requesting the constitutive institutions for property. Opportunities for Strong Sustainable Consumption obviously presuppose radical changes, social innovations and thinking out of the box.
KW  - Veblen
KW  - sustainable consumption
KW  - vested interests
KW  - structural change
Y1  - 2014
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:hbz:836-opus-106424
VL  - 26
IS  - 1-2
SP  - 149
EP  - 172
ER  -