Thorstein Veblen, who wrote during the early years of the 20th century, used examples from Barbarian times to illustrate his economic theory, but his theory is still applicable and meaningful to life today. The Theory of the Leisure Class is as much a commentary on human nature and the demands of modern society as it is an economic treatise. According to his theory all human societies exhibit a need to honor a class of people who do no productive work. As a rule this class of people are men who are waited upon and served by women and servile classes of men. Their only real "work" is to consume food, clothing, housing, furniture, and whatever connotes luxury. Nowadays, this would include luxury cars, expensive and up-to-date computer equipment and electronic devices, and great homes with swimming pools, wine cellars, and Italian granite countertops in kitchens like those seen on HGTV.

             The lower classes tend to emulate this behavior and consume goods in a conspicuous manner to show that they, too, are worthy. The consumption of goods is evidence of "pecuniary strength," that is financial success, and frequently people will buy things they cannot afford-even if it means doing without things they actually need-in order to impress the neighbors. As human beings have become more and more urbanized, conspicuous consumption has become even more important because in the city the people often do not know each other, and so one cannot depend on his reputation to sustain a sense of worthiness. So people buy things they do not really need in order to fulfill the more pressing "higher need" to be admired. Veblen states, "the requirement of decent appearance must be lived up to on pain of losing caste." .

             It is a well known fact that most Americans do not save any money. According to Veblen's theory, this is because a savings account, no matter how fat, will not advertise one's wealth. The whole point is to show that one is rich and successful and has expensive tastes.