Since the 1970s in America, the combined effect of globalization and automation have created winners and losers. On the whole, the coastal urban middle class of all ethnicities have gained from new opportunities and new premiums on their cultural capital and so—have come to feel like winners and cultural insiders. On the other hand, white blue-collar workers in middle America—whose jobs have been off-shored or automated—have felt increasingly like losers and cultural outsiders. This globalization effect has helped push the American white blue collar to a cultural membership they feel on the political right.
Drawing on field work in the deep South (Strangers in Their Own Land) and on-going work in Appalachia, Hochschild describes a right-wing ›deep story‹ that led to the rise of Donald Trump. Hochschild describes subsequent ›chapters‹ of that story from a focus on ›loss‹ to ›victimhood of theft‹ (of an election, cultural centrality, affluence) to a focus on revenge and status-reversal: outsider as insider). She discusses the suppression of a social class narrative, its relation to the right wing narrative, and possible ways forward.
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SASE Salons are open live exclusively to paid members of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE). To join, visit https://sase.org/join-sase/. The webinar series presents cutting-edge research from leading thinkers in anticipation of the 2022 annual SASE conference at the University of Amsterdam, ›Fractious Connections: Anarchy, Activism, Coordination, and Control‹ – 9-11 July 2022. Our aim is to spark debate, challenge assumptions, and become an essential resource for anyone interested in socio-economics and political economy.
