Bootstrap capitalism and the culture industries: a critique of invidious comparisons in the study of ethnic entrepreneurship

A perennial debate in Europe and the United States has been about the causes of apparent black under-representation in self-employment, an implicit racialization in scholarly discourse which arguably parallels prevalent common-sense notions about cultural pathology. The present article challenges co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethnic and racial studies 2001-03, Vol.24 (2), p.236-262
Main Authors: Basu, Dipannita, Werbner, Pnina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Black American people
Black people
Capitalism
Cultural industry
Cultures and civilizations
Enclave economy
Entertainment Industry
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Ethnic Enclave Economies
Ethnic Entrepreneurship
Ethnic relations. Racism
Ethnicity
Hip Hop
Hip hop music
Music
Popular Culture
Popular music
Rap Music
Recording industry
Self Employment
Self-employed workers
Sociology
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Summary:A perennial debate in Europe and the United States has been about the causes of apparent black under-representation in self-employment, an implicit racialization in scholarly discourse which arguably parallels prevalent common-sense notions about cultural pathology. The present article challenges conventional definitions of African American entrepreneurship by examining in detail the role of black entrepreneurs in the hip hop industry. The organization of music as a mass cultural industry and its expansionary processes is shown to be generated by networks of mutually interdependent, mostly small and struggling, music producers integrated vertically and horizontally. Our analysis demonstrates, we propose, the need to conceptualize the structure of ethnic enclave economies as organized around the flow of particular goods produced by specific industries. By shifting our gaze onto those areas of economic activity which African Americans are currently penetrating, we are able to show how their use of subcultural capital enables them to supply and command a global market.
ISSN:0141-9870
1466-4356
DOI:10.1080/01419870020023436