Reading rank 397
The Engineers and the Price System
, subject: Engineers, technology, and economic power, 1921
Veblen's 1921 thesis: engineers, armed with technical knowledge, would seize economic power from the financiers.
15
Coverage Score
3
Scored evidence
About the book
Published in 1921, the book considers engineers, business control, industrial efficiency, and Veblen's proposed reorganization of economic production.
Why read it
Best if you want the original argument that engineers, not financiers, would come to hold economic power, and want to weigh what technical knowledge entitles a builder to control.
Key themes
- Engineers against financiers
- Does expertise confer a claim to control?
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #23, #274
This record is supported by 3 public evidence rows linked to original Founders episodes.
- The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story — David recounts Veblen's thesis that engineers would use their technical knowledge to seize power from financiers and connects Clark's interest in the argument to his technical identity.
- Jim Clark (Silicon Graphics, Netscape) — David connects The Engineers and the Price System to his recently covered Vannevar Bush series, comparing their views that engineers create economic value and should share in its rewards.