Thorstein VEBLEN, a founder of institutional economics, was an
early critic of the "marginalism" at the heart of traditional
theory: Standard economics emphasizes choice, which seems
grounded in a philosophic concept of free will. But mathematical
models of choice appear inconsistent with any meaningful freedom
to choose. Most institutionalists join some other critics of
conventional economic theory by doubting that people are
unfailingly rational and calculating. Veblen, a first generation
Norwegian-American and world-class oddball, was born on his
parents’ farm in Wisconsin shortly before the Civil War. A child
prodigy, he read book after book in a dark attic, leaving all
chores to his siblings. Thorstein’s lifelong knack for bluffing
helped him invent mazes of plausible facts while detailing
answers to all sorts of questions from his brothers and sisters.
Recognizing his intellect, Thorstein’s parents shipped him off
to Carleton College, where he wrote on such topics as "A Plea
for Cannibalism" and "An Apo