New Books in Economics

Erik Baker, "Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America" (Harvard UP, 2025)

Mar 2, 2025
Erik Baker, author of "Make Your Own Job," explores the evolution of the American work ethic and how entrepreneurialism transformed it over the twentieth century. He discusses the shift from traditional job security to today's gig economy, linking it to historical movements like the New Thought. Baker critiques the constant push for self-actualization at work, arguing it has legitimized economic insecurity. He reveals how diverse figures, from Marcus Garvey to Henry Ford, shaped this ethos, ultimately reflecting societal anxieties about work in an unstable economy.
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ANECDOTE

Erik Baker's Union Experience

  • Erik Baker shares his experience involved in academic labor and unionization influencing his interest in the entrepreneurial work ethic.
  • His friends’ anxieties about work and entrepreneurial identity in sciences inspired his research on work culture.
INSIGHT

Entrepreneurialism as a Work Ethic

  • The entrepreneurial work ethic demands workers create new work constantly, not just perform assigned tasks.
  • It legitimizes working beyond material needs through constant innovation and proactive job creation.
INSIGHT

New Thought's Economic Transformation

  • New Thought movement transformed from spiritual healing to a doctrine of economic success using mental discipline.
  • It promised overcoming material obstacles by creating new opportunities, appealing broadly amid industrial anxieties.
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