Know Your Enemy

The Entrepreneurial Ethic & How We Work Today (w/ Erik Baker)

111 snips
Jan 21, 2025
Historian Erik Baker, a lecturer at Harvard and author of "Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America," delves into the allure of the entrepreneurial work ethic. He discusses its historical roots and its seductive power in American culture, sparking conversations about responsibility and identity in the workplace. Baker also critiques how this ethos has evolved, particularly in the tech-driven age of Silicon Valley and in the era of political figures like Trump, highlighting its significant impact on society and individual fulfillment.
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ANECDOTE

Shared Work Ethic

  • Matt's father, a working-class entrepreneur, believed that loving one's job eliminates work.
  • This reflects Elon Musk's view, showing how this ideology transcends class.
INSIGHT

Entrepreneurship and Class

  • Entrepreneurship offers a capitalist dream of classlessness, blurring class lines.
  • This makes it harder to perceive class differences and inequalities.
INSIGHT

Shifting Work Ethics

  • The entrepreneurial work ethic arose from a scarcity of traditional drudgery.
  • It emphasizes creating work, contrasting with the older ethic of enduring it.
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