Want to learn the ideas in Strangers In Their Own Land better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Strangers In Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild here.
Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.
Video Summaries of Strangers In Their Own Land
We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Strangers In Their Own Land, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Arlie Russell Hochschild.
1-Page Summary of Strangers In Their Own Land
Overall Summary
Arlie Russell Hochschild, a well-known sociologist who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote this book to investigate why people vote for Republican candidates. She noticed that most liberal analyses focus on economics and politics instead of emotions. This is because liberals often assume that blue states have better economic and political outcomes than red states but still vote for Republicans (this is called the Great Paradox).
In contrast, her research focuses on the “deep story” of conservatives that explains why they feel disenfranchised in society and how empathy can help bridge the gap between liberals and conservatives. She conducted interviews with mostly older white Christians from a region of Louisiana to try to understand this. This led her to focus on environmental pollution as a “keyhole issue” through which she could reveal the Great Paradox of why these people are so opposed to government regulation even though it seems like it’s against their own self-interests. It was revealed that while opposition may seem paradoxical, it is actually perfectly logical given the way in which they envision themselves, their declining opportunities in contemporary America and how they’re being displaced by liberal cosmopolitanism.
In the first section of her book, Hochschild attempts to explain a paradox present in Louisiana. Her research involves interviewing people who oppose some environmental regulations. One man lost his home after a drilling accident that could have been prevented with more regulation. However, he did not support those laws because they would limit business and state control over their own affairs; this is an example of the Great Paradox. There is an empathy wall between Louisianans like Schaff and individuals like Hochschild herself, but she hopes to learn how they can overcome such walls during her time there.
In the next chapter, she meets Lee Sherman who used to work for PPG. He now works as a pipe fitter and he is very concerned about safety. After working at PPG for many years, they fired him because he got sick from doing his job. The company dumped toxic waste into the river without any regard for safety or regulations. They also affected Harold Areno’s family by dumping toxic waste in their backyard and killing everything around them including animals that were important to their family history on the land where they lived since generations ago before there was an America. Even though Harold’s family knows that Republicans will probably do nothing about this issue, they still vote Republican because of their strong beliefs in God even though it contradicts with what Republicans believe in most of the time which is environmental protection laws.
In Louisiana, a state with the highest poverty in the country and one of the poorest education systems, many people are still working for oil companies. However, Hochschild notes that most of these workers are not from Louisiana; they’re from other states or countries. Furthermore, she argues that Governor Bobby Jindal has cut funding to public education in order to fund tax breaks for oil companies.
Part two of Hochschild’s book examines the social terrain that shapes southwest Louisiana’s culture. She first interviews Bob Hardey, who is the mayor of Westlake and a loyal supporter of Sasol. He is excited about Sasol opening an enormous complex in his town, but he actually doesn’t stand to gain from it because local people don’t earn much money. Next, she talks to Mike Schaff again with an eye toward regulation in Louisiana. Texas Brine was responsible for causing a sinkhole that swallowed up part of Bayou Corne; however, regulations are weak in this state so no one was able to prevent this catastrophe from happening.
