Yes, love this idea. Personally I think a big reason US Americans worship small business owners is we all fucking hate the nature of work under capitalism. It's not that everyone thinks they'll run a business and get rich, just that running their own business will let them get out from under the oppressive boot of wage work under capitalism. For US workers, it's literally easier to imagine running your own comic book store or whatever than it is to push for workers rights (and tbf, that's not totally irrational given how hard it is to improve workers rights here). Just redirect that energy.
The fantasy of escaping wage labor is a huge part of it, yes. The other major pillar of entrepreneur worship is that some entrepreneurs actually are impressive, broadly competent people who work very hard. It's not always a product of exploiting other workers, either -- some really do pay themselves modestly (at least initially) and many do ground-level work at their businesses (at least initially).
It's good to acknowledge this part of reality, too, because painting with too broad of brush is how you lose people who don't already agree with you. And it's not a contradiction to acknowledge this but say that no matter how competent an entrepreneur is, they shouldn't be taking home far more than the folks doing most of the actual work.
One of my friends (I haven't spoken with in years) is one of these impressive entrepreneurs. Honestly he is a smart and decent person. In college he vacillated between becoming a monk and a tech startup bro. But his parents are literal hedge fund managers, so you can guess which direction he chose.
After college (about twelve years ago) he started a tech startup that was basically a Facebook clone but only for your close friends and family. The startup went nowhere for a year or two. I don't know for sure, but I assume that most of the startup money came from his parents. Eventually, a mid-sized tech company purchased his startup, paying my friend in stock. Then one of the biggest tech companies purchased that tech company, making my friend an overnight millionaire. Like a good capitalist he reinvested some of that money in a new venture I can't really describe. I thought it was pretty brilliant when he told me about it, but that was in a pre-covid world; the venture specifically relies upon in-person shopping. I won't be surprised if it falls apart, although either his parents or a tech giant might swoop in and save him again. When I visited him in California a few years ago, he complained nonstop about how expensive everything was, although I assume that's pretty typical for people living in California. He drove a Tesla but honestly lived in a pretty modest house.
Rambling story over. Point being, everyone works hard. Everyone is smart, or at least has the potential to be. But under capitalism it doesn't really matter how hard you work or how smart you are. You cannot get anywhere without connections. Without that hedge fund money my friend wouldn't have even dreamed of founding his own startup.
under capitalism it doesn’t really matter how hard you work or how smart you are. You cannot get anywhere without connections
I don't think this is quite correct. Capitalism monetizes whatever it touches and turns every transaction possible into an arms-length deal. This means you need fewer connections to succeed today than you needed in, say, 1721. You can buy your way into about anywhere, and if you can get a loan (which often doesn't require a personal connection) you don't even have to use your own money to do so.
That said, connections are still a cheat code, and connections (as you pointed out) are often a way to get a loan that you otherwise couldn't have, that you can then use to buy access to some place where you don't have connections. Connections are still extremely useful, but for the most part they're less important today than they probably ever have been.
Yes, love this idea. Personally I think a big reason US Americans worship small business owners is we all fucking hate the nature of work under capitalism. It's not that everyone thinks they'll run a business and get rich, just that running their own business will let them get out from under the oppressive boot of wage work under capitalism. For US workers, it's literally easier to imagine running your own comic book store or whatever than it is to push for workers rights (and tbf, that's not totally irrational given how hard it is to improve workers rights here). Just redirect that energy.
The fantasy of escaping wage labor is a huge part of it, yes. The other major pillar of entrepreneur worship is that some entrepreneurs actually are impressive, broadly competent people who work very hard. It's not always a product of exploiting other workers, either -- some really do pay themselves modestly (at least initially) and many do ground-level work at their businesses (at least initially).
It's good to acknowledge this part of reality, too, because painting with too broad of brush is how you lose people who don't already agree with you. And it's not a contradiction to acknowledge this but say that no matter how competent an entrepreneur is, they shouldn't be taking home far more than the folks doing most of the actual work.
One of my friends (I haven't spoken with in years) is one of these impressive entrepreneurs. Honestly he is a smart and decent person. In college he vacillated between becoming a monk and a tech startup bro. But his parents are literal hedge fund managers, so you can guess which direction he chose.
After college (about twelve years ago) he started a tech startup that was basically a Facebook clone but only for your close friends and family. The startup went nowhere for a year or two. I don't know for sure, but I assume that most of the startup money came from his parents. Eventually, a mid-sized tech company purchased his startup, paying my friend in stock. Then one of the biggest tech companies purchased that tech company, making my friend an overnight millionaire. Like a good capitalist he reinvested some of that money in a new venture I can't really describe. I thought it was pretty brilliant when he told me about it, but that was in a pre-covid world; the venture specifically relies upon in-person shopping. I won't be surprised if it falls apart, although either his parents or a tech giant might swoop in and save him again. When I visited him in California a few years ago, he complained nonstop about how expensive everything was, although I assume that's pretty typical for people living in California. He drove a Tesla but honestly lived in a pretty modest house.
Rambling story over. Point being, everyone works hard. Everyone is smart, or at least has the potential to be. But under capitalism it doesn't really matter how hard you work or how smart you are. You cannot get anywhere without connections. Without that hedge fund money my friend wouldn't have even dreamed of founding his own startup.
I don't think this is quite correct. Capitalism monetizes whatever it touches and turns every transaction possible into an arms-length deal. This means you need fewer connections to succeed today than you needed in, say, 1721. You can buy your way into about anywhere, and if you can get a loan (which often doesn't require a personal connection) you don't even have to use your own money to do so.
That said, connections are still a cheat code, and connections (as you pointed out) are often a way to get a loan that you otherwise couldn't have, that you can then use to buy access to some place where you don't have connections. Connections are still extremely useful, but for the most part they're less important today than they probably ever have been.
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