The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions is a book, first published in 1899, by the Norwegian-American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen while he was a professor at the University of Chicago. In the book's introduction he explains that much of the material discussed can be traced back to the proper sources by any well-read person. The Theory of the Leisure Class is considered one of the first detailed critiques of consumerism.