--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The failure of language—the tyranny of…" description: "\"“The failure of language—the tyranny of moral generalization over social inspection—fed the ruling class’s belief that it was endangered from below.”\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/robert-hughes-9113_character_the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-m_2138587.jpg" --- # The failure of language—the tyranny of moral… ![“The failure of language—the tyranny of moral generalization over social inspection—fed the ruling class’s belief that it was endangered from below.” quote by Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/robert-hughes-9113_character_the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-m_2138587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/robert-hughes-9113_character_the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-m_2138587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/robert-hughes-9113_character_the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-m_2138587.jpg) > ““The failure of language—the tyranny of moral generalization over social inspection—fed the ruling class’s belief that it was endangered from below.”” [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language can obscure specific social realities when broad moral judgments dominate, protecting elite power structures. **In simple terms:** Broad morals hide social details, aiding elites. Key Takeaway Question language to reveal lived realities. Themes power language social critique elitism Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - academic analysis - policy making - media criticism - education - activism Key Concepts critical theory ideology hegemony Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape power? - When should moral judgments be applied? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on moral generalization may ignore necessary universal principles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Ruling class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruling-class/) ## Related quotes > [I love language, and I love the failure of language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-lowman/i-love-language-and-i-love-the-failure-of-language/) [Nate Lowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-lowman/) > [That's all very well as an abstract moral principle, Avril, a coffee-table theoretical construct, but there's no denying the sheer gratuitous pleasure to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/that-s-all-very-well-as-an-abstract-moral-principle-avril-a-coffee/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [The Republican establishment, the Democrat establishment agree and accept that the media is an equal player in the ruling class. Trump has blown all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-republican-establishment-the-democrat-establishment-agree-and/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Our democracies are increasingly captured by a ruling class that seeks to perpetuate its privileges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/our-democracies-are-increasingly-captured-by-a-ruling-class-that/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [“There are only a few people who are able to change the map of the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atef-ashab-uddin-sahil/there-are-only-a-few-people-who-are-able-to-change-the-map-of-the/) [Atef Ashab Uddin Sahil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atef-ashab-uddin-sahil/) > [Because you look at it, you know, and there's basically one set of rules that protect that industrial ruling class. That's what the governments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-trudell/because-you-look-at-it-you-know-and-there-s-basically-one-set-of/) [John Trudell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-trudell/) > [But in view of the constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan/but-in-view-of-the-constitution-in-the-eye-of-the-law-there-is-in/) [John Marshall Harlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan/) > [The ruling class doesn't care about public safety. Having made it very difficult for States and localities to police themselves, having left ordinary citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-wallop/the-ruling-class-doesn-t-care-about-public-safety-having-made-it-very/) [Malcolm Wallop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-wallop/) > [Chuck Schumer is the face of the ruling class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-long/chuck-schumer-is-the-face-of-the-ruling-class/) [Wendy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-long/) > [I am running to fix the economy, restore the constitutional system of checks and balances and to end this game of crony capitalism by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brat/i-am-running-to-fix-the-economy-restore-the-constitutional-system-of/) [Dave Brat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brat/) > [“The ultimate goal of the political elite is to privatize the air. So as not to destroy their own edifice of democratic compassion they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-political-elite-is-to-privatize-the-air-so/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [Your ruling class don't care about what happens to you. What seems like some enormous upset in your community is undetectable from a helicopter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/your-ruling-class-don-t-care-about-what-happens-to-you-what-seems/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) ## More by Robert Hughes > [“Most of the time they buy what other people buy. They move in great schools, like bluefish, all identical. There is safety in numbers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/most-of-the-time-they-buy-what-other-people-buy-they-move-in-great/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [The basic project of art is always to make the world whole and comprehensible, to restore it to us in all its glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-basic-project-of-art-is-always-to-make-the-world-whole-and/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Confidence is the prize given to the mediocre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/confidence-is-the-prize-given-to-the-mediocre/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [There's no geist like the Zeitgeist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/there-s-no-geist-like-the-zeitgeist/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [A Gustave Courbet portrait of a trout has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/a-gustave-courbet-portrait-of-a-trout-has-more-death-in-it-than/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“In one sense, (Duchamp's) “The Large Glass” is a glimpse into Hell; a peculiarly modernist Hell of repetition and loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/in-one-sense-duchamp-s-the-large-glass-is-a-glimpse-into-hell-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/indeed-the-idea-that-doubt-can-be-heroic-if-it-is-locked-into-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [One thing is sure: the Sagrada Familia is the first Catholic temple whose bacon was ever saved by Shinto tourism. Not even Gaudi, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/one-thing-is-sure-the-sagrada-familia-is-the-first-catholic-temple/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [What strip mining is to nature the art market has become to culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/what-strip-mining-is-to-nature-the-art-market-has-become-to-culture/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [For the machine meant the conquest of horizontal space. It also meant a sense of that space which few people had experienced before –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/for-the-machine-meant-the-conquest-of-horizontal-space-it-also-meant/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to-the-rites-of-travel/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“The World's Fair audience tended to think of the machine as unqualifiedly good, strong, stupid and obedient. They thought of it as a giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-world-s-fair-audience-tended-to-think-of-the-machine-as/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [What has our culture lost in 1980 that the avant-garde had in 1890? Ebullience, idealism, confidence, the belief that there was plenty of territory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/what-has-our-culture-lost-in-1980-that-the-avant-garde-had-in-1890/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [On the whole, money does artists much more good than harm. The idea that one benefits from cold water, crusts and debt collectors is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/on-the-whole-money-does-artists-much-more-good-than-harm-the-idea/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So runs the stereotype of rejected genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/popular-in-our-time-unpopular-in-his-so-runs-the-stereotype-of/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) [Explore all 75 Robert Hughes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The failure of language—the tyranny of moral generalization over social inspection—fed the ruling class’s belief that it was endangered from below.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Hughes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-moral-generalization-over/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-moral-generalization-over/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/robert-hughes-9113_character_the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-m_2138587.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/robert-hughes-9113_character_the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-m_2138587.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/robert-hughes-9113_character_the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-m_2138587.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The failure of language—the tyranny of moral generalization over social inspection—fed the ruling class’s…” — Robert Hughes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Hughes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The failure of language—the tyranny of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-moral-generalization-over/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-failure-of-language-the-tyranny-of-moral-generalization-over/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```