Podcast
Behind the Bastards
This book was mentioned as a source of the theory of corporate sabotage, with a section titled "On the Nature and Uses of Sabotage", discussing how corporations routinely sabotage their own production to maintain prices.
In the first part of The Engineers and the Price System, a work that has been broadly ignored even by his followers, Veblen wrote a section called On the Nature and Uses of Sabotage.
— Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 11
Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 11
This book was mentioned as a source of the theory of corporate sabotage, with a section titled "On the Nature and Uses of Sabotage", discussing how corporations routinely sabotage their own production to maintain prices.
In the first part of The Engineers and the Price System, a work that has been broadly ignored even by his followers, Veblen wrote a section called On the Nature and Uses of Sabotage.
Episode: It Could Happen Here Weekly 11
It was discussed as a book that heavily focused on the concept of corporate sabotage. The author was quoted directly from the book, arguing that the ordinary work of a corporation is a form of sabotage, as it prioritizes profits over the needs of people.
In the first part of "The Engineers and the Price System", a work that has been broadly ignored even by his followers, Veblen wrote a section called "On the Nature and Uses of Sabotage".
From that work, writers and speakers who dilate on the militarious exploits of the nation's businessmen will not commonly allude to this voluminous running administration of sabotage, this conscientious withdrawal of efficiency that goes into their ordinary day's work.
We are not used to thinking of the ordinary work of a corporation being sabotage.
But for Veblen, there was no other explanation for what he was seeing.
But for reasons of business expediency, it is impossible to let these idle plants and idle workmen go to work.
That is to say, for reasons of insufficient profit to the businessmen interested or in other words, for reasons of insufficient income to the vested interests which control the staple industries and so regulate the output of product.