The left behind : decline and rage in rural America

Resource Information

The work The left behind : decline and rage in rural America represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Memorial Hall Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The left behind : decline and rage in rural America

Title remainder

decline and rage in rural America

Statement of responsibility

Robert Wuthnow

Creator

• Wuthnow, Robert

Author

• Wuthnow, Robert

Subject

• Rural-urban divide
• Sociology, Rural
• Sociology, Rural -- United States
• United States
• Racism
• United States -- Rural conditions -- 21st century
• United States -- Social conditions -- 21st century -- Public opinion
• Working class whites -- United States -- Attitudes
• United States -- Politics and government -- 21st century -- Public opinion
• Rural population -- United States -- Attitudes

Language

eng

Summary

What is fueling rural America's outrage toward the federal government? Why did rural Americans vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump? And, beyond economic and demographic decline, is there a more nuanced explanation for the growing rural-urban divide? Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Robert Wuthnow brings us into America's small towns, farms, and rural communities to paint a rich portrait of the moral order--the interactions, loyalties, obligations, and identities--underpinning this critical segment of the nation. Wuthnow demonstrates that to truly understand rural Americans' anger, their culture must be explored more fully. We hear from farmers who want government out of their business, factory workers who believe in working hard to support their families, town managers who find the federal government unresponsive to their communities' needs, and clergy who say the moral climate is being undermined. Wuthnow argues that rural America's fury stems less from specific economic concerns than from the perception that Washington is distant from and yet threatening to the social fabric of small towns. Rural dwellers are especially troubled by Washington's seeming lack of empathy for such small-town norms as personal responsibility, frugality, cooperation, and common sense. Wuthnow also shows that while these communities may not be as discriminatory as critics claim, racism and misogyny remain embedded in rural patterns of life. Moving beyond simplistic depictions of the residents of America's heartland, The Left Behind offers a clearer picture of how this important population will influence the nation's political future

Cataloging source

YDX

Dewey number

306.0973

Index

index present

LC call number

HN59.2

LC item number

.W867 2018

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography