One Day I'll Work for Myself

November 20, 2023
This sobering chronicle by Waterhouse (Lobbying America), a history professor at the University of North Carolina, explores how the American “conception of work became so individualized and how so many people became convinced that the path to success lay in working for themselves.” He traces the glorification of being one’s own boss from Thomas Jefferson—who waxed rhapsodic about the moral beauty of self-reliance, despite himself depending on hundreds of enslaved laborers—through the contemporary gig economy, which Waterhouse suggests appeals to workers disillusioned with traditional employers’ inability to provide living wages or stability after the 2008 financial crisis. Highlighting how government interventions have reflected attitudes toward employment, he contends that some legislators hoped the 1890 Sherman Anti-Trust Act would revive the “industrial liberty” of small businesses, which had been the norm before the “first true ‘big businesses’ ” (mostly railroad and steel behemoths) arose in the 1860s. Waterhouse’s economical storytelling keeps the history informative yet approachable, and his searing analysis sheds light on how America’s boot-strapping mythology has hoodwinked workers. For instance, he posits that the allure of self-employment serves to divert attention away from the inequitable labor practices that make traditional jobs so grueling, encouraging entrepreneurship in lieu of labor organizing. Readers will want to check this out before quitting their day job.

January 1, 2024
A thoughtful examination of the myths, reality, and cultural dimensions of self-employment. Waterhouse, a history professor at the University of North Carolina and author of Lobbying America and The Land of Enterprise, focuses his research on the practice and politics of business in America. In his latest book, he engagingly explores how the idea of self-employment has developed and evolved. The U.S. has always had small businesses, but Waterhouse identifies the 1970s as a turning point. Before that, the emphasis had been on the regular paycheck, but after a protracted economic slowdown and rounds of layoffs, the idea of self-employment took off--although it was often a necessity more than a choice. Over the next few decades, increasing numbers of women started their own businesses after realizing that corporate advancement was unlikely. Bad jobs, stagnant wage growth, and inequality pushed the trends, but the reality is that self-employment often requires long hours for a small, unstable income. In fact, outright failure is common. Nevertheless, the precepts of freedom and self-reliance connect to deep themes in American culture. The arrival of the internet added the element of tech-driven disintermediation and generated an array of exciting new opportunities. It also created the gig economy, which provides many advantages but can easily lead to exploitation and fraud. Waterhouse makes a strong argument that gig workers should receive a decent, assured income and legal protections, although he admits that this would be difficult to do. "Our national culture remains fixated on the emancipatory potential of the individual business owner, the risk-taker, the Shark Tank entrepreneur," he concludes. That is not entirely a bad thing, but the author shows us ways in which to think more deeply about what the gig economy means. A clear-minded account of the link between self-employment and culture--and where the path leads.

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