{"product_id":"culture-of-complaint-the-fraying-of-america-by-robert-hughes","title":"'Culture of Complaint: The Fraying of America' by Robert Hughes","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-8 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"auto\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eRobert Hughes’s \u003cem\u003eCulture of Complaint\u003c\/em\u003e is a polemical account of American public life in the early 1990s: grievance politics, collapsing civic language, institutional timidity and the growing habit of treating offence as a substitute for argument.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHughes attacks both conservative moralism and progressive orthodoxies, especially the tendency of cultural institutions to confuse symbolic recognition with political change. The book is unmistakably of its moment. Its language around identity politics can now feel blunt, and some of its targets have aged into caricature. What remains useful is Hughes’s resistance to intellectual tribalism and his insistence that democratic culture requires standards, memory and the ability to survive disagreement. It is best read not as a neutral diagnosis but as a period document in the culture wars: energetic, exasperated and revealing about the liberal anxiety of the era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHarvill, 1994 revised and augmented paperback edition. Light cover rubbing, creasing and edge wear.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45894834389075,"sku":null,"price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/Untitleddesign-2026-08-01T154012.070.png?v=1785562889","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/culture-of-complaint-the-fraying-of-america-by-robert-hughes","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}