Jeff Bezos’s Beautiful Defense of American Entrepreneurialism

I dare you to read—without shedding a tear of joy—Jeff Bezos’s July 29 statement before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on antitrust. Even given a few paeans to “climate change,” “income inequality,” “much-needed race reckoning,” and an apparent confusion about the nature of democracy, his statement is one of the most beautiful defenses of the entrepreneurial American spirit that I’ve ever heard from a CEO. He tells the story of his hardworking parents, his youthful exploits as “a garage inventor,” his decision to leave a steady job and take on massive risk to start an online book retailer, Amazon’s many trying years, and what it’s doing today to fulfill “its long-term mission of making it Earth’s most customer-centric company.” . . .

About Jon Hersey

Jon Hersey (@jon__hersey) is managing editor of The Objective Standard and holds fellowships at Foundation for Economic Education, where he writes in defense of freedom, and at Objective Standard Institute, where he teaches “How to Write Powerfully in Defense of Liberty.” He hosts the podcasts “Philosophy for Flourishing” and “The Hero Show.” He’s on a mission to identify and apply the principles of human flourishing. Get his ebook on writing in defense of liberty here, and join his mailing list at JonHersey.com.

View all articles by Jon Hersey →