Ben Waterhouse on the Dream and Reality of Self Employment

Ben Waterhouse on the Dream and Reality of Self Employment

One recent study found that 81% of businesses in the United States have zero employees. That is, they are run by sole proprietors, working for and by themselves, The ideal of self-employment has become dominant in our culture, too. More Americans than ever dream of becoming an entrepreneur, an independent owner, a founder.

But for all of its prevalence in our economy and in our imaginations, the origins of this impulse are a bit hazy. When did so many of us begin to idolize self-employment? What might it reveal about broader shifts in the employment landscape in the 20th and 21st centuries? In his new book, One Day I'll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America, Ben Waterhouse answers precisely those questions. He explains how the rise of self-employment dates back to the economic transformations of the 1970s and intensified during the decades of precarity that followed. In our wide-ranging conversation, we touch on everything from franchise jurisprudence to the gig economy to the surprising story behind the Sam Adams beer company.

Jaksot(125)

Sherene Seikaly on Economic Thought in British Mandate Palestine

Sherene Seikaly on Economic Thought in British Mandate Palestine

Historian Sherene Seikaly uncovered a group of elite Palestinian men in 1930s and 1940s who articulated a national economic vision for Palestine before the founding of Israel. Listen to learn more abo...

2 Touko 201634min

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on Black Lives Matter and Black Liberation

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on Black Lives Matter and Black Liberation

Few social justice struggles have captivated recent political history like the broad Black Lives Matter movement. From the streets of Ferguson and Baltimore to campaign rally interruptions of leading ...

1 Huhti 201645min

Eric Rauchway on How FDR and Keynes Ended the Depression

Eric Rauchway on How FDR and Keynes Ended the Depression

We've been hearing a lot about economist John Maynard Keynes' midcentury economic plans for the U.S. since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. Are the measures that Keynes and FDR took to c...

1 Helmi 201643min

Leigh Claire La Berge on Financial Fiction of the Long 1980s

Leigh Claire La Berge on Financial Fiction of the Long 1980s

What stories do we tell about finance? How does financial print culture shape our lives? Our guest today explores the narratives we have been told, and tell, about finance. A literary scholar, Leigh C...

1 Tammi 201648min

Jennifer Mittelstadt on the Rise of the Military Welfare State

Jennifer Mittelstadt on the Rise of the Military Welfare State

Have you seen those Facebook memes floating around, arguing that we shouldn't support a $15 minimum wage for service sector workers because the military doesn't earn a living wage? Jennifer Mittelstad...

2 Joulu 201548min

Mike Elk on Media Workers Unite

Mike Elk on Media Workers Unite

On this month’s episode, we talk to the journalist Mike Elk about a new group called Media Workers Unite and their “Louisville Statement of Media Workers Rights.” Media Workers Unite are creating a pu...

1 Marras 201522min

Phil Tiemeyer on Male Flight Attendants and Sexuality in the Workplace

Phil Tiemeyer on Male Flight Attendants and Sexuality in the Workplace

Today’s guest discusses the history of sexuality in the workplace through the lens of male flight attendants. We speak with Phil Tiemeyer about the shifts and changes in the airline industry across th...

1 Syys 201537min

Live Show: Who Makes Cents with Belabored

Live Show: Who Makes Cents with Belabored

In July, we joined our friends from Dissent magazine's Belabored podcast to discuss the history of capitalism and how journalists and academics writing about labor and business can work together. List...

1 Elo 20151h 18min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
kaksi-aitia
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
joku-tietaa-jotain-2
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-nikotellen
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
naakkavalta