David and all; My suggestion would be to replace the quotation from The
Higher Leaning in America (one of Veblen's lesser, though still amusing,
works with this from The Theory of Business Enterprise (Charles
Scribener's Sons, 1904:
"The economic welfare of the community at large is best served by a
facile and uninterrupted interplay of the various processes which make
up the industrial system at large; but the pecuniary interests of the
business men in whose hands lies the discretion in the matter are not
necessarily best served by an unbroken maintenance of the industrial
balance." (p. 27)
The Theory of Business Enterprise is Veblen's best book and it continues
to be highly relevant.
Anne Mayhew