Francesco Duina

Broke and Patriotic

Why Poor Americans Love Their Country

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Why are poor Americans so patriotic? They have significantly worse social benefits compared to other Western nations, and studies show that the American Dream of upward mobility is, for them, largely a myth. So why do these people love their country? Why have they not risen up to demand more from a system that is failing them? In Broke and Patriotic, Francesco Duina contends that the best way to answer these questions is to speak directly to America's most impoverished. Spending time in bus stations, laundromats, senior citizen centers, homeless shelters, public libraries, and fast food restaurants, Duina conducted over 60 revealing interviews in which his subjects explain how they view themselves and their country. He masterfully weaves their words into three narratives. First, America's poor still see their country as the "last hope" for themselves and the world: America offers its people a sense of dignity, closeness to God, and answers to most of humanity's problems. Second, America is still the "land of milk and honey": a very rich and generous country where those who work hard can succeed. Third, America is the freest country on earth where self-determination is still possible. This book offers a stirring portrait of the people left behind by their country and left out of the national conversation. By giving them a voice, Duina sheds new light on a sector of American society that we are only beginning to recognize as a powerful force in shaping the country's future.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 240
• Erscheinungstermin: 10. Oktober 2017
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 223mm x 146mm x 25mm
• Gewicht: 412g
• ISBN-13: 9780804799690
• ISBN-10: 0804799695
• Artikelnr.: 47774902

Autorenporträt

Francesco Duina is Professor of Sociology at Bates College, as well as Honorary Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia and Visiting Professor of Business and Politics at the Copenhagen Business School. He is the author of several books, including Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession (2011).

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
1The Prehistoric Roots of the Modern Mind
chapter abstract
This chapter presents an overview of the development and architecture of
the human brain, and shows what evolutionary history has to do with the
nature of cognition today. Drawing on the perspectives and techniques of
evolutionary psychology, it pursues the following questions: (1) Given our
ancestral world, what kinds of mental structures and functions should we
expect to find in the brain, and do we? and (2) What roles do mental
structures and functions formed in the Pleistocene world continue to play
in "modern" minds? In the course of the discussion, it also outlines
contemporary models of the mind-from the "blank slate" view to the idea of
massive modularity-and surveys the range of intuitive knowledge (e.g.,
intuitive biology, intuitive physics, and intuitive psychology) and innate
cognitive processes that both shape and constrain human thought.
1A People's Country
chapter abstract
Chapter 1 introduces the key puzzle of the book-why are poor Americans
patriotic?-and explains why we should try to answer it. Much, in fact,
depends on that patriotism: the social order, the nature of inequality in
the country, military recruitment, and America's sense of self and identity
both at home and on the world stage. The patriotism of the poor can also be
politically very salient, as seen during the presidential elections of 2016
and Donald Trump's victory. The chapter explains that extensive in-depth
interviews were carried out in Montana and Alabama and summarizes the
findings: America is a place of hope, the "land of milk and honey," and a
country of freedom. Americans belong to the country; more important,
however, the country still belongs to Americans. With much else in life a
struggle, being American offers invaluable meaning and dignity.
2Broke and Patriotic
chapter abstract
Chapter 2 presents evidence that poor Americans are by many measures, (such
as Social Security benefits, intergenerational mobility prospects, working
hours, and income and wealth gaps relative to middle and upper classes)
worse off than the poor in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) countries. The American Dream is eluding them. At the
same time, the American poor (even if we control for race, gender, or other
dimensions) are extraordinarily patriotic. Indeed, their patriotism matches
or exceeds that of the poor in other OECD countries and is equal if not
superior to the patriotism of wealthier Americans. Data come from the World
Values Survey, the General Social Survey, and other sources. Why do the
poor hold such high levels of patriotism?
3Heading to Alabama and Montana
chapter abstract
Chapter 3 notes that we know little about the patriotism of the poor.
Research on related topics, however, can offer us initial potential
insights. The chapter thus examines works on the origins, including the
popular roots, and evolution of American patriotism through time. The
chapter examines research on the patriotism of different types of
marginalized Americans (women, African Americans, Native Americans) and
considers research on social cohesion. It identifies the initial hypotheses
for the book and then specifies the research methods used for
investigation: for example, selection of sites (Alabama and Montana),
selection of interviewees, and survey questions used. The chapter refers
readers to the Appendix for further methodological details.
4The Last Hope
chapter abstract
Chapter 4 explores the sentiments, held by most interviewees, that America
is an exceptional, even transcendental, country: a place designed and
intended to offer deliverance from the ills that have plagued humanity
throughout history to this very day. America, in a word, represents hope,
both for humanity and for each individual person in the country. The
interviewees evoked pictures of oppressive and destitute places when
describing other countries. America offers reprieve and the possibility of
a better future. The idea of exceptionality was further reinforced by a
belief that, while God is kind and loves everyone equally, he holds America
in a special place in his heart: America is God's country. And with this
there was also an almost tragic sense, described by several, that one has
to believe in America: when all else seems to be a struggle, faith in
country, and in America in particular, is a must.
5The Land of Milk and Honey
chapter abstract
In Chapter 5, many of the people interviewed, despite their own lives'
often difficult trajectories, took pride in America's great wealth and
what, they felt, it means for the country's poor: an abundance of riches
that allows everyone to survive, a feeling that one is being taken care of,
and the conviction that anything is possible in America: despite their own
lives' often difficult trajectories. America, they asserted, despite all
their troubles, is the "land of milk and honey." Many of the interviewees
spoke of the limitations of other countries: run-down, unable to provide
for their people, and oppressive. Everyone still wants to come to the
United States, they said. The country's natural beauty may play a role,
too. Many expressed contentment with their lot. There were differences
between interviewees in Alabama and Montana.
6Freedom
chapter abstract
Chapter 6 discusses how "freedom" was the word that nearly all interviewees
mentioned when accounting for their love of the United States. Questions of
income, social status, or other metrics of personal success were secondary
and often irrelevant. Freedom is at the heart of the American social
contract. Freedom means individual self-determination, both physical and
mental. Those in Montana infused this narrative with considerable
libertarian themes; black interviewees in Alabama tended to point to
progress in racial relations. Only America guarantees the right to bear
arms. This is a matter of self-protection and rebellion against tyranny.
But with guns one can also hunt and feed one's family. Many stressed that
America's freedom was fought for, at great cost, by generations of
Americans. To these we should add more localized patriotic narratives: a
Confederate view of heritage in Alabama and an antigovernment version in
Montana.
7Reconciling Poverty and Patriotism
chapter abstract
Did the interviewees feel a contradiction between their difficult life
situations and love of country? Chapter 7 notes that there was no puzzle in
their minds. They talked about the fairness of outcomes in life, their
sense that new opportunities were about to come along (especially if one is
walking with God), a conviction that everyone is worth the same regardless
of wealth, and, finally, that the United States is really the only country
they know. Taken together, these answers help complete the picture of the
depth and coherence of the patriotism of America's poor. One's precarious
circumstances are no grounds for doubting the greatness of the country.
8An Unshakable Bond
chapter abstract
Chapter 8 summarizes the key findings from the interviews. It emphasizes
the strong, personal, and multifaceted bonds between America's worst-off
and their country. The chapter concludes by reflecting on three broader
themes: inequality and politics in America, the possible evolution and uses
of the patriotism of America's poor (with a specific reference to Donald
Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election), and the nature of
patriotism across different economic classes in America.