In the 19th century fin de siècle when Thorstein Veblen published his greatest work The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) the concern about the turn of the century was tangibly felt (it is especially visible in literature, painting and music). The world of science did not react that intensely to the oncoming century and Veblen was here rather an exception. A century later, the great activity of influential intellectuals was also visible. At the end of the second millennium visions full of fear of the advancing globalization and the new problems of societies of the most developed countries were presented by, among others, Alvin and Heidi Toffler (1993), Jeremy Rifkin (1995), Samuel Huntington (1996) or Benjamin Barber (1996). Also, there emerged voices, in charge of which was Francis Fukuyama – the author of The End of History? – saying that modern economic liberalism is paramount and the best form of social relations (Fukuyama 1989).

Among those spectacular intellectual manifestos there were no works, which in the Veblen-like style, thanks to in-depth observations, would give a satirical picture of the modern social relations, at least in the style of Julio Cortazar in Studies on consumption society. The Argentinean writer referred to the subject of consumerism in the following way:

Also, in the genial, now classic prose by Aldous Huxley one may find criticism against consumption society when one of the characters of Brave New World says ‘(…) [y]ou can't consume much if you sit still and read books’ (Huxley 2002, 35). Alongside finding intriguing quotes in literary visions, it is worth having a look at the timeless work by Veblen. It turns out then that after over a century since the publication of The Theory of the Leisure Class his concept is still incredibly fresh and the sharp criticism withstands the test of time in many respects.