Prelude to a theory of homo absurdus: variations on themes from Thorstein Veblen and Jean Baudrillard
提出'荒谬人'这一经济角色，其社会心理特征源自凡勃伦对商业文化的讽刺性洞察，并借助鲍德里亚对马克思主义的批判展示凡勃伦方法的当代意义，最终将荒谬人视为对绝望逃避的治疗性回应。
Homo absurdus refers to an economic character who differs markedly from the leading characters in both orthodox and Marxist interpretations of economic life. The social and psychological characteristics of absurdus are drawn from Thorstein Veblen's ironical and existential insights into business culture. In particular, the article shows how Veblen uses irony to describe and explore the type of despair that results from a dichotomy between industrial and pecuniary practices and frames the experience of absurdity in this culture. Jean Baudrillard's critique of Marxism in The Mirror of Production is discussed as an example of the contemporary relevance of Veblen's approach. Beyond its theoretical uses, absurdus is described as a therapeutic response to escapism born of despair. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.