Veblen was among the first economists who engaged in the study of the association between wealth and consumption in the society. Veblen did not at any point accept the theory of laissez faire of economics that was based on the Darwanian assumptions of ‘dog-eat-dog’ community. In his economic theories, he did not also believe in the fact that the economy is based on individuals who are simply trying to gratify their pleasure-seeking needs. In his explanation of why economics is not an evolutionary science, Veblen defined economics as the characteristic of a man doing something (Veblen 1898). Man is not simply a bundle of gratification that are to be flooded by being put in the path of environmental forces but instead a comprehensible structure of habits and tendencies that seek expression and realization in an activity that is unfolding. As a result of refuting economics as an evolutionary science, he also rejected the neoclassical economic theory of behavior. Veblen made recognition that both societies and individuals are driven by economic goals and both parties are adapting consequently to get to these goals.

Since the goals and the means to attain these goals keep on changing, Veblen termed his economic theory as dynamic or rather evolutionary (Veblen 1898). Evolutionary economy could be understood as the theory that looks at the process of cultural growth with full determination of an economic interest of a cumulative series of economic institutions with reference to the process itself. Looking at Veblen’s economic analysis, the foundation of human evolution lies in the invention of a more effective and new technologies. According to Veblen and his economic principles, life progresses through knowledge of how to handle material means of life. In this discussion, Veblen says that the goal of an economy therefore is to cause man to be more effective and easily adapt to natural environments as well as technology with the economic industry playing a larger role in the process. Economic and social institutions also play significant roles in this process since they are responsible for the evolution process. Veblen says natural selection is what occurs between economic institutions as they try to adapt to new circumstances within environments (Veblen 1899). Old institutions must die so that new ones might take over thus supporting his view of economy being evolutionary.

Veblen developed evolutionary economics in the 20^th century basing on the Darwinian principles and other new ideas that emerged from psychology, anthropology and sociology. Unlike the existing neoclassical economists at that time, Veblen offered a different description of economic behavior as being socially determined and viewed economic organizations as the process that completes an ongoing revolution. He strongly rejected all theories that found basis in individual action or any theory that highlighted the factor of inner personal motivation. According to him, such like theories were not scientific. Veblen had an intention for economists to grasp the cultural and social effects of change on economic transformation. In his Theory of the Leisure class, the concepts of predation and emulation play a major role in determining economic flow (Veblen 1899). Both the poor and the rich are alike because of their attempt to impress those around them and seeking to gain advantage through what he termed as ‘conspicuous consumption’ and the passion to be part of ‘conspicuous leisure’.

In his work, Veblen argued that in order to gain status, consumption is measured and it is through conspicuous consumption that conspicuous waste was born, an argument that Veblen detested. In his economic theory of Business Enterprise that was published in the early years of the 20^th century at the time of the American concern with business growth and trust, Veblen managed to employ an evolutionary analysis in explaining the new forms of business enterprise. Veblen in discriminated the conflict between economic engineers and businessmen saying that the human society will forever involve conflict between current and new norms developed out of simple human predisposition to influence the world in which we live in. He also generalized the business enterprise model to include the theory of processes of evolution as modeled by Sumner and the theory of instincts to enhance his theory of economic evolution (Veblen 1899).

Because the world is full of pragmatists, our beliefs about the world are rather a human construct instead of reality mirrors, transforming ways of manipulating nature and notions of truth and authority as well as institutional patterns. Veblen did not write his principles with so much confidence that his new theories are better but wrote his theories with confidence that the American economy would be much efficient. In addition, the theory of Leisure Class and that of Business enterprise were accepted as part of the universal economic theories because they stood to support labor movements, were compatible with socialism, Marxism and anarchism (Veblen 1899). Because he believed in technological developments that would eventually develop America to a form of socialist economy, the nature of evolution that he believed in saw his work be considered as part of civilization.