A Recommendation of Amateurism
We were told growing up to "pursue your dreams," and "do what you love," followed inevitably by the punchline: "and you'll never work a day in your life." This advice is about as damaging as insisting everyone pursue college education without regard for desire or ability. It's one of many stock platitudes that I call "boomerisms," built largely on American myths of success and self-determination. Of course, none of this has been true for a long time. Take the story of the Tucker automobile as a microcosm: one man with a dream turns it into a business only to have a collusion of government, industry, and media disassemble it before it ever turns a profit. There's a movie about it. But what if Tucker had satisfied himself with building cars in his garage, one at a time? People do this now to great personal satisfaction. Government typically leaves them alone; rival businesses don't even notice; but your neighborhood will notice. G...
