Arlie Hochschild's Answer To The Great Paradox Of America

Arlie Hochschild’s tries to give answers to The Great Paradox of America’s politics: Why do poor whites vote for far-right politicians who institute policies that deny them access to education and pollute the environment? Why do poor whites vote against their own economic interest? Why are there no organic vegetarian restaurants in the Louisiana countryside? (intro)”Many workers in the petrochemical plants were conservative Republicans and avid hunters and fishers and felt caught in a terrible bind. They loved their magnificent wilderness. They remembered it as children. They knew it and respect it as sportsmen. But their jobs were in industries that polluted--often legally--this same wilderness”(cut quote, page number and explain). Through deep discussion with many people in Louisiana, Hochschild leads to a series of archetypes that explain how Louisianans have coped
For the people of Louisiana being tough is not just a moral value, but a practice, as a matter of fact conservatives held the idea that liberalism promotes victimhood. (intro)“Not claiming to be a victim, accommodating the downside of loose regulations out of a loyalty to free enterprise—this was a tacit form of heroism.”() The group of people from the Louisiana Tea Party not only support the oil and energy company, but also identify with it, refusing to see themselves as victims of the effects of the industries, since they would be seen as weak. The people that were interviewed by Hochschild claimed that they had fought so hard, waiting for progress, and even though they have not seen any progress thy will endure and not complain, or ask for handouts, as no one wants to take anything for the government. (page number) The oil companies are seeing by the workers and inhabitants of Louisiana as a source of jobs that are necessary to prevent people from drowning in the very feared unemployment and poverty