Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country

Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country

by Francesco Duina
Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country

Broke and Patriotic: Why Poor Americans Love Their Country

by Francesco Duina

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

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 sixty revealing interviews in which his participants 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.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781503608214
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication date: 10/16/2018
Series: Studies in Social Inequality
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 8.40(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

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).

Table of Contents

1 A Peoples Country 1

2 Broke and Patriotic 11

3 Heading to Alabama and Montana 28

4 The Last Hope 52

5 The Land of Milk and Honey 83

6 Freedom 113

7 Reconciling Poverty and Patriotism 151

8 An Unshakable Bond 170

Appendix 181

Acknowledgments 203

Notes 207

References 215

Index 225

Photograph section follows page 106

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