Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right Summary
Arlie Russell Hochschild

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right Overview

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right follows sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild as she immerses herself in the lives of Louisiana residents who have suffered from environmental degradation, declining living standards, and a sense of alienation from rest of the country. As with many progressive intellectuals and academics, she notes that conservative rural voters tend to vote against policies that would seemingly help their economic interests, and she strives to uncover why. After joining them in their homes and learning about their backgrounds, she finds that these are not mere dupes of a Republican Party exploiting their prejudices while it betrays their economic well-being, but people whose voting preferences have been formed by their backgrounds in the outdoors, in churches, and in factories. The nation's economic and social progress of recent decades has come at their expense, she finds, and along the way she sees signs of a building discontent, which ultimately emerges in the form of Donald Trump.