The White Working-Class and the Foreclosure Crisis: Tracing the Roots of a Failed Movement in Southern California

Abstract

This article investigates why no major social movement has developed around the foreclosure crisis. Initially, the answer to this question was thought to lie in the individualistic ideological beliefs held by those going through foreclosure. That is, it was hypothesized that self-blame and guilt would account for the lack of activism in the streets. To test this hypothesis, a survey of over 400 residents and over twenty in-depth follow-up interviews were conducted in a working-class suburb of San Diego, California, that had been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis. These data failed to support the hypothesis and, instead, pointed to community individualistic ideology and lack of participation in civic organizations as the determining factors suppressing movement formation.