Ben Waterhouse
@benwaterhouse.bsky.social
Historian @UNC-Chapel Hill. Works on culture and politics of business, especially in modern U.S.
Newest book: One Day I'll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion that Conquered America
Newest book: One Day I'll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion that Conquered America
Sure, but recognize symbolism for what it is.
What the candidates should really pledge is to dismember the entire imperial presidency that got us to this point.
But they won't.
Because they think the system was basically fine until Trump showed up.
What the candidates should really pledge is to dismember the entire imperial presidency that got us to this point.
But they won't.
Because they think the system was basically fine until Trump showed up.
I will repeat this every single day for the next three years: Any Democrat running for president in 2028 must pledge to immediately tear down/bulldoze/demolish Trump’s ballroom and fully restore the East Wing and any other piece of the People’s House Trump has or will destroy.
November 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Sure, but recognize symbolism for what it is.
What the candidates should really pledge is to dismember the entire imperial presidency that got us to this point.
But they won't.
Because they think the system was basically fine until Trump showed up.
What the candidates should really pledge is to dismember the entire imperial presidency that got us to this point.
But they won't.
Because they think the system was basically fine until Trump showed up.
UNC-Chapel Hill has THREE Rhodes Scholars this year!
Congratulations to Tiana, Rotimi, and Gabrielle!!
Big thanks to Dr. Marc Howlett, Executive Director of our Office of Distinguished Scholarships, and to all faculty and friends who helped in the process.
www.unc.edu/posts/2025/1...
Congratulations to Tiana, Rotimi, and Gabrielle!!
Big thanks to Dr. Marc Howlett, Executive Director of our Office of Distinguished Scholarships, and to all faculty and friends who helped in the process.
www.unc.edu/posts/2025/1...
3 Carolina seniors win Rhodes scholarships - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Tiana Dinham, Rotimi Kukoyi and Gabrielle Moreau received the prestigious honor, matching Carolina’s record high for a single year.
www.unc.edu
November 17, 2025 at 5:36 PM
UNC-Chapel Hill has THREE Rhodes Scholars this year!
Congratulations to Tiana, Rotimi, and Gabrielle!!
Big thanks to Dr. Marc Howlett, Executive Director of our Office of Distinguished Scholarships, and to all faculty and friends who helped in the process.
www.unc.edu/posts/2025/1...
Congratulations to Tiana, Rotimi, and Gabrielle!!
Big thanks to Dr. Marc Howlett, Executive Director of our Office of Distinguished Scholarships, and to all faculty and friends who helped in the process.
www.unc.edu/posts/2025/1...
Trippy experience today when the hotel elevator opened up and I was face to face with Britt Lower, aka Helly R.
I was a little worried about losing my memory before the elevator got to the bottom floor!
I was a little worried about losing my memory before the elevator got to the bottom floor!
November 14, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Trippy experience today when the hotel elevator opened up and I was face to face with Britt Lower, aka Helly R.
I was a little worried about losing my memory before the elevator got to the bottom floor!
I was a little worried about losing my memory before the elevator got to the bottom floor!
This article is insipid and stupid, but the sub-head is worse. No one is "too young" to "fact check" things that happened before they can remember.
Maybe too lazy or ignorant, but not too young.
Entire professions exist to explain things you didn't live through.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/s...
Maybe too lazy or ignorant, but not too young.
Entire professions exist to explain things you didn't live through.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/s...
Remember When Things Were Better in the ’90s? A.I. Does Too.
www.nytimes.com
September 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
This article is insipid and stupid, but the sub-head is worse. No one is "too young" to "fact check" things that happened before they can remember.
Maybe too lazy or ignorant, but not too young.
Entire professions exist to explain things you didn't live through.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/s...
Maybe too lazy or ignorant, but not too young.
Entire professions exist to explain things you didn't live through.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/s...
I don't think people should be getting MBAs, but I would point out that there is nothing mutually exclusive about being a history major and going to business school.
History majors have lower unemployment than computer science majors.
Folks with humanities graduate degrees are more sought after by corporate recruiters than those with MBAs.
Study history! Get a job!
Folks with humanities graduate degrees are more sought after by corporate recruiters than those with MBAs.
Study history! Get a job!
September 10, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I don't think people should be getting MBAs, but I would point out that there is nothing mutually exclusive about being a history major and going to business school.
I lectured college students today about why Jefferson called farmers "the chosen people of God."
I said it was like what a certain 90s movie said about stuff "from the earth... God put this here for me and you."
Pretty sure no one caught the reference.
I said it was like what a certain 90s movie said about stuff "from the earth... God put this here for me and you."
Pretty sure no one caught the reference.
August 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I lectured college students today about why Jefferson called farmers "the chosen people of God."
I said it was like what a certain 90s movie said about stuff "from the earth... God put this here for me and you."
Pretty sure no one caught the reference.
I said it was like what a certain 90s movie said about stuff "from the earth... God put this here for me and you."
Pretty sure no one caught the reference.
Favorite US history myth that needs to die a sudden and quick death, GO:
"Small business is the backbone of the economy."
"Small business is the backbone of the economy."
Favorite US history myth that needs to die a sudden and quick death, GO:
I’ll start
Betsy Ross didn’t sew the first fucking flag.
There was no ‘first’ flag.
Her name wasn’t Betsy Ross
I’ll start
Betsy Ross didn’t sew the first fucking flag.
There was no ‘first’ flag.
Her name wasn’t Betsy Ross
August 13, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Favorite US history myth that needs to die a sudden and quick death, GO:
"Small business is the backbone of the economy."
"Small business is the backbone of the economy."
Me and my book project
July 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Me and my book project
I love the idea that GMU originally wanted to call its law school the "Antonin Scalia School of Law" but realized the acronym was ASSoL.
The Trump administration's insinuation that George Mason University is some liberal hive of wokeness is utter horseshit. GMU's Mercatus Center is one of the leading free-market think tanks around D.C. Its law school is named after Antonin Scalia!
OTOH, GMU hired a Black man as its president.
OTOH, GMU hired a Black man as its president.
NEW: When university president Gregory Washington received notice that the Trump administration had opened an investigation into complaints of antisemitism, he was “perplexed.”
But there are signs it may be part of a coordinated campaign to oust him.
But there are signs it may be part of a coordinated campaign to oust him.
July 11, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I love the idea that GMU originally wanted to call its law school the "Antonin Scalia School of Law" but realized the acronym was ASSoL.
Reposted by Ben Waterhouse
I am excited to announce my first ever paper (w/ @samiyousif.bsky.social ) about a new illusion of *number*: the “Crowd Size Illusion”. osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
June 26, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I am excited to announce my first ever paper (w/ @samiyousif.bsky.social ) about a new illusion of *number*: the “Crowd Size Illusion”. osf.io/preprints/ps...
bet they wouldn't quit if they got paid more
'They quit after a few hours': Farmers admit they can't find American workers
www.rawstory.com/trump-farmer...
www.rawstory.com/trump-farmer...
'They quit after a few hours': Farmers admit they can't find American workers
In interviews with the Washington Post, multiple farmers expressed their dismay with the loss of farm workers under Donald Trump's harsh immigration policies and his administration's waffling on subsi...
www.rawstory.com
June 21, 2025 at 8:59 PM
bet they wouldn't quit if they got paid more
Just want to point out:
If Trump proves, retroactively, that he was elected president in 2020, then, retroactively...
he was ineligible to run in 2024.
Stop the steal?
If Trump proves, retroactively, that he was elected president in 2020, then, retroactively...
he was ineligible to run in 2024.
Stop the steal?
NEW: Trump calls for a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election. The same guy who spent over a year arguing in court that special prosecutors were unconstitutional. apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump calls for special prosecutor to investigate 2020 election, reviving longstanding grievance
President Donald Trump is calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden, repeating his baseless claim the contest was marred by widespr...
apnews.com
June 20, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Just want to point out:
If Trump proves, retroactively, that he was elected president in 2020, then, retroactively...
he was ineligible to run in 2024.
Stop the steal?
If Trump proves, retroactively, that he was elected president in 2020, then, retroactively...
he was ineligible to run in 2024.
Stop the steal?
Amusing reminder that the sloganeers are really maligning the concept of constitutional monarchy. I would happily trade the US system for the Swedish one.
But that's not a hill I'm going to die on. So Happy No Kings Day, y'all.
But that's not a hill I'm going to die on. So Happy No Kings Day, y'all.
I do enjoy the country-specific name changes for No Kings protests this weekend
June 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Amusing reminder that the sloganeers are really maligning the concept of constitutional monarchy. I would happily trade the US system for the Swedish one.
But that's not a hill I'm going to die on. So Happy No Kings Day, y'all.
But that's not a hill I'm going to die on. So Happy No Kings Day, y'all.
The reason we have historians is so that people don't delude themselves into thinking they can write the history of their own times based on their personal vibes.
Like this schlock.
It May Feel Like the 1960s, but It’s Worse www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...
Like this schlock.
It May Feel Like the 1960s, but It’s Worse www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...
Opinion | It May Feel Like the 1960s, but It’s Worse
www.nytimes.com
June 9, 2025 at 11:55 PM
The reason we have historians is so that people don't delude themselves into thinking they can write the history of their own times based on their personal vibes.
Like this schlock.
It May Feel Like the 1960s, but It’s Worse www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...
Like this schlock.
It May Feel Like the 1960s, but It’s Worse www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...
People who get paid to do a thing are generally better at it than people who cannot get paid to do the thing.
Or do you not agree with capitalism?
Or do you not agree with capitalism?
on its face this is just remarkably bad business—in 2025 there is absolutely no shortage of places online to read "the opinions of nonprofessional writers," and widespread commodity LLMs mean there's no advantage to editing them with a.i.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/b...
June 4, 2025 at 5:52 PM
People who get paid to do a thing are generally better at it than people who cannot get paid to do the thing.
Or do you not agree with capitalism?
Or do you not agree with capitalism?
We shall be as a dumpster fire upon a hill.
Starting to wonder if we took one for global civic democracy. Electing Trump basically seems to have knee-capped every revanchist far-right candidate in the world. You're welcome, world.
May 18, 2025 at 9:17 PM
We shall be as a dumpster fire upon a hill.
Maybe the clearest case you'll here for increasing federal revenue...
With mandatory spending like say, Medicaid, congress doesn’t appropriate it. It’s automatic. But the CUT it they have to change the law, and that’s what they want to do. The truth about spending
youtu.be/EHPk1c-LhqA
youtu.be/EHPk1c-LhqA
What Politicians Won’t Tell You About Federal Spending
YouTube video by Adam Kinzinger
youtu.be
May 14, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Maybe the clearest case you'll here for increasing federal revenue...
Good reminder from @bretdevereaux.bsky.social that liberal apathy, as much as conservative conniving, lay the groundwork for the awfulness we're all living through.
If we are going to weather this night - hopefully a short one - we are going to need to summon some sincerity and be willing to be 'cringe' in committing, in public, to the ideals we hold.
You cannot keep a republic with apathy and nihilism. You can't do good history with it either.
You cannot keep a republic with apathy and nihilism. You can't do good history with it either.
May 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Good reminder from @bretdevereaux.bsky.social that liberal apathy, as much as conservative conniving, lay the groundwork for the awfulness we're all living through.
Reposted by Ben Waterhouse
among the things i would do if i were king of america is outlaw MLMs
Just out: one of the most illuminating books I've read on how Trump happened.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/715421...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/715421...
Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read: 9780593443927 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A groundbreaking work of history and reportage that unveils the stranger-than-fiction world of multilevel marketing: a massive money-making scam and radical political conspiracy that has remade Americ...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
May 2, 2025 at 7:10 PM
among the things i would do if i were king of america is outlaw MLMs
People who use the phrase "do your own research" should not be trusted on anything, ever.
You are not serious people.
You are not serious people.
This public health nightmare continues. “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advised parents of newborns to “do your own research” before vaccinating their infants during a televised interview in which he also suggested the measles shot was unsafe and repeatedly made false statements”
Kennedy Advises New Parents to ‘Do Your Own Research’ on Vaccines
In an interview with Dr. Phil, the health secretary offered false information about vaccine oversight and revealed a lack of basic understanding of new drug approvals.
www.nytimes.com
May 1, 2025 at 12:37 PM
People who use the phrase "do your own research" should not be trusted on anything, ever.
You are not serious people.
You are not serious people.
Folks: The pastor is an idiot, but please get this history right--
The 3/5 clause wasn't bad because it diminished enslaved people: SLAVERY did that.
It was bad because it OVER-COUNTED unfree people to help ENSLAVERS.
It should have been 0/5, not 5/5.
Or there just shouldn't have been slavery.
The 3/5 clause wasn't bad because it diminished enslaved people: SLAVERY did that.
It was bad because it OVER-COUNTED unfree people to help ENSLAVERS.
It should have been 0/5, not 5/5.
Or there just shouldn't have been slavery.
He genuinely thought it was a good idea when he posted this.
April 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Folks: The pastor is an idiot, but please get this history right--
The 3/5 clause wasn't bad because it diminished enslaved people: SLAVERY did that.
It was bad because it OVER-COUNTED unfree people to help ENSLAVERS.
It should have been 0/5, not 5/5.
Or there just shouldn't have been slavery.
The 3/5 clause wasn't bad because it diminished enslaved people: SLAVERY did that.
It was bad because it OVER-COUNTED unfree people to help ENSLAVERS.
It should have been 0/5, not 5/5.
Or there just shouldn't have been slavery.
Notably, those Latin American countries that turned into dictatorships had Constitutions modeled on the US Constitution.
The party that campaigned on the idea that the Democrats would turn the US into a Latin American dictatorship are now deploying the tactics of Latin American dictatorships to punish anyone who gets in the way of their goal of disappearing people into a prison in a Latin American dictatorship.
I know we’re all keeping track of lines crossed, and there’s more than any one person can track, but this one—I honestly don’t know what to say (other than we knew Homan was going to push all officers of the law into doing the work of mass deportation, and now that includes… arresting judges)
April 25, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Notably, those Latin American countries that turned into dictatorships had Constitutions modeled on the US Constitution.
Reposted by Ben Waterhouse
New book!
Environmental Regulation and the History of Capitalism
The Role of Business from Stockholm 1972 to the Climate Crisis
Coedited with Janick Schaufelbuehl and Sandra Bott
In open access here:
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...
Environmental Regulation and the History of Capitalism
The Role of Business from Stockholm 1972 to the Climate Crisis
Coedited with Janick Schaufelbuehl and Sandra Bott
In open access here:
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...
April 24, 2025 at 9:28 AM
New book!
Environmental Regulation and the History of Capitalism
The Role of Business from Stockholm 1972 to the Climate Crisis
Coedited with Janick Schaufelbuehl and Sandra Bott
In open access here:
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...
Environmental Regulation and the History of Capitalism
The Role of Business from Stockholm 1972 to the Climate Crisis
Coedited with Janick Schaufelbuehl and Sandra Bott
In open access here:
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...
Pope Fiction
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Pope
A Series of Unfortunate Popes
April 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Pope Fiction