Strangers In Their Own Land

About the Author

Arlie Russell Hochschild is a distinguished sociologist and professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. Known for her pioneering work in sociology, particularly in the areas of emotion, culture, and politics, Hochschild has spent decades exploring the emotional landscapes that shape human behavior. Her groundbreaking research on emotional labor, outlined in her book "The Managed Heart," has been influential in understanding how emotions are regulated and commodified in the workforce. In "The Second Shift," she examined the dual burden faced by working women who manage both professional careers and domestic responsibilities.

Hochschild’s commitment to understanding the emotional dimensions of social life is evident in her extensive body of work, which seeks to uncover the hidden feelings that drive public and private actions. In "Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right," she applies her empathetic approach to one of the most pressing issues in contemporary America: the deep political and cultural divide between liberals and conservatives. By immersing herself in the lives of conservative voters in Louisiana, Hochschild aims to bridge this divide by understanding the emotional and cultural factors that shape their political beliefs.

Main Idea

"Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right" is a deeply empathetic exploration of the social and emotional forces that drive right-wing politics in the United States. Hochschild argues that the country is divided by an "empathy wall"—a barrier that prevents people on opposite sides of the political spectrum from understanding each other’s experiences and perspectives. Through her research, Hochschild seeks to dismantle this empathy wall by delving into the lives of conservative voters in Louisiana, revealing the complex emotions of honor, pride, resentment, and loss that underpin their political choices.

The book examines the paradox of why conservative voters in some of the most impoverished and environmentally degraded regions of the United States continue to support politicians and policies that seem to harm them. Hochschild explores how cultural values, particularly those related to honor and traditionalism, play a significant role in this paradox. By understanding these values, she argues, we can begin to bridge the political divide and find common ground between liberals and conservatives.

Table of Contents

• The Conservative Paradox
• Environmental Degradation: A Case Study
• Honor, Tradition, and the Tea Party
• The "Line-Cutters" and Resentment
• Emotional Self-Interest and Political Loyalty
• Breaking Down the Empathy Wall

The Conservative Paradox

One of the central themes in "Strangers in Their Own Land" is what Hochschild calls the "conservative paradox"—the puzzling phenomenon where voters in the most conservative, Republican-dominated states in the U.S. consistently support politicians and policies that seem to exacerbate their economic and environmental woes. Hochschild focuses on Louisiana, a state that ranks near the bottom in terms of life expectancy, health outcomes, education, and environmental quality, yet whose residents overwhelmingly support the Republican Party and its pro-business, anti-government agenda.

This paradox, Hochschild argues, can be understood by examining the cultural and emotional values that drive conservative voters. For many residents of Louisiana, supporting conservative politicians is not just about economic interests but about defending their sense of honor, identity, and autonomy. These voters see themselves as part of a larger struggle to preserve traditional values in the face of a rapidly changing world. They view the federal government and liberal elites as threats to their way of life, and they believe that by supporting conservative policies, they are standing up for their community and their values.