The present invention is directed to an aqueous polymer composition comprising a copolymer and water, the copolymer containing at least one hydrophilic base or acid-neutralizable monomer and at least one hydrophobic ethylenically unsaturated monomer. A film formed from the contains essentially no crosslinking. The polymer composition is formed by polymerizing the hydrophilic monomer and hydrophobic monomer in a non-aqueous solvent; forming an aqueous polymer dispersion from the non-aqueous polymer solution, and adding a base or acid to form an aqueous polymer composition.