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One reason that conservative America is awash in grift is the valorization of the entrepeneur. It leads a lot of people to get sucked into multi-level marketing schemes or peddling snake oil, so they can say they're "entrepeneurs". It's an aspirational category.
(None of this is to say entrepeneurs are inherently bad. As a former freelance writer, I was one! Just it's critical to understand the role that these forces play.)
A lot of Trumpers who are salaried employees, if you talk to them, they have dreams of being their own boss.
A lot of Trumpers who are salaried employees, if you talk to them, they have dreams of being their own boss.
And, as some folks astutely noted, previous incarnations of this ideology led to lynchings, most notably the Tulsa massacre, which targeted Black entrepeneurs, and were about sending the message that the petty bourgeois class is white-only.
I'll add one more thing: Notable that Betsy DeVos (Amway) and Trump (Trump University) have made money exploiting these kinds of entrepeneur yearnings, by promising "be your own boss" opportunities, which are in fact likely just going to lead to going into debt.
