Noam Chomsky: Sports is a capitalist conspiracy

[Humes fork]

Take, say, sports -- that's another crucial example of the indoctrination system, in my view. For one thing because it -- you know, it offers people something to pay attention to that's of no importance. [audience laughs] That keeps them from worrying about -- [applause] keeps them from worrying about things that matter to their lives that they might have some idea of doing something about. And in fact it's striking to see the intelligence that's used by ordinary people in [discussions of] sports [as opposed to political and social issues]. I mean, you listen to radio stations where people call in -- they have the most exotic information [more laughter] and understanding about all kind of arcane issues. And the press undoubtedly does a lot with this.

You know, I remember in high school, already I was pretty old. I suddenly asked myself at one point, why do I care if my high school team wins the football game? [laughter] I mean, I don't know anybody on the team, you know? [audience roars] I mean, they have nothing to do with me, I mean, why I am cheering for my team? It doesn't mean any -- it doesn't make sense. But the point is, it does make sense: it's a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority, and group cohesion behind leadership elements -- in fact, it's training in irrational jingoism. That's also a feature of competitive sports. I think if you look closely at these things, I think, typically, they do have functions, and that's why energy is devoted to supporting them and creating a basis for them and advertisers are willing to pay for them and so on.

http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/1992----02.htm

I'm not very interested in sports myself, but come on! This is ridiculous!

So sports is a great capitalist conspiracy to keep people distracted from politics and make them jingoistic. One wonders what kind of entertainment there will be in Chomsky's ideal society. Will we all sit and discuss politics all day?

History lesson: Some sort of sports/competitive games has been practiced in pretty much every culture on Earth. The Greeks may be the most well-known, but Germanic, Celtic, Eurasian steppe nomads, etc all had some sort of competitive games. A few months ago I read that Afghanistan had started practice its national sport that was prohibited during the Taliban era. I don't remember the name of the game, but they rode on horses while fighting for a dead goat, and was brought to the area by the Mongols during the Middle Ages. Evil Western capitalists trying to distract the Afghans by letting them do sports.

 

[carlitos]

How else could there be Chicago Cubs season ticket holders, if not a conspiracy?

 

[Tony]

Don't know if it qualifies as an actual, intentional conspiracy, but he is right about the effects of sports. The Romans knew this and used their sporting events for political propaganda and as a distraction.

 

[lane99]

It's not ridiculous to say sports have elements of indoctrination and jingoism. Ever wonder why they play the national anthem before sporting events?

I don't think you've understood well what Chomsky was saying. For one, where does he say this is exclusively relevant to "capitalistic" societies?

In general, you've oversimplified, and conflated the actual extent of his argument.

At any rate, if you don't think organized professional sports are some form of indoctrination and diversion, then I'd say they've done their job quite nicely.
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[Travis]

Yeah, but I don't think the fact that we like distractions is really a conspiracy.

 

[Humes fork]

Distraction from what? Is politics the only worthy subject there is?

 

[theprestige]

I thought politics was a sporting conspiracy to distract us from the seedy underbelly of the sports world.

 

[lionking]

Merely another thing that Chomsky is wrong about.

 

[Travis]

Distraction from what? Is politics the only worthy subject there is?

I'd argue linguistics is also a distraction as I'm pretty sure society could operate without the study of it but we find it interesting so we indulge.

 

[Noztradamus]

It's not ridiculous to say sports have elements of indoctrination and jingoism. Ever wonder why they play the national anthem before sporting events?

I assumed that was just being Murrican, nothing to do with the sports event.

 

[sir drinks-a-lot]

That is pretty stupid, but alot less stupid than alot of other things said by Chumpsky.

 

[Cleon]

Not an original idea, at any rate.

Let's use capital punishment the same way we use sports and television in this country, to distract people and take their minds off how bad they're being ********** by the upper one percent.

 

[Darth Rotor]

this just in: Chomsky was the geek who showed up in gym class in 7th grade wearing. Black socks with his white low tops.

 

[arthwollipot]

This is clearly going to be an unpopular view, but for the most part I agree with Chomsky. Except that sport isn't created in order to distract the masses, it's a natural part of society that is used to distract the masses. Panem et circenses, as it were.

Let's face it, an obscene amount of money is poured into sports that otherwise could feed the poor, wipe out the national debt - of several countries - ensure every child got a good education and develop clean renewable power for the world, and still have change for lunch.

Instead, we're treated at massive cost to this ridiculous weekly ritual where people in colourful costumes parade about kicking balls, or whacking them with sticks, or whatever. Just so one group of people can be declared better at an arbitrary and otherwise useless skill than another group of people.

Now, if you don't mind, I need to go find my asbestos underwear for the inevitable response.

 

[Quinn]

I always feel a little bit icky when I find myself agreeing with something Chomsky says. This is one of those times.

Regardless of where sports originated and how they functioned in earlier societies, I think what he described is pretty much what they do in modern Western society. I don't think that's all they do, or that there was some nefarious NWO plot to use them that way. I don't think the average high school football coach goes to work every day thinking about how he can best indoctrinate his players into a life of jingoistic subordination. But the results kinda speak for themselves -- unless anyone wants to argue that sports don't compel large numbers of people invest large amounts of time, effort and emotion into something inherently trivial.

 

[Checkmite]

Chomsky is a toolbag. I'm glad he's discovered that sports are diversion, like all entertainment, but it's just not an epiphany to anyone else. He doesn't say much to support his opinion that diversion is bad; so it's hard to evaluate it aside from "I disagree"; although the fact that his very website and lectures are by definition a diversion to the people who attend them makes it all an exercise in irony (hardly Chomsky's first).

 

[tyr_13]

This is clearly going to be an unpopular view, but for the most part I agree with Chomsky. Except that sport isn't created in order to distract the masses, it's a natural part of society that is used to distract the masses. Panem et circenses, as it were.

Let's face it, an obscene amount of money is poured into sports that otherwise could feed the poor, wipe out the national debt - of several countries - ensure every child got a good education and develop clean renewable power for the world, and still have change for lunch.

Instead, we're treated at massive cost to this ridiculous weekly ritual where people in colourful costumes parade about kicking balls, or whacking them with sticks, or whatever. Just so one group of people can be declared better at an arbitrary and otherwise useless skill than another group of people.

Now, if you don't mind, I need to go find my asbestos underwear for the inevitable response.

Agreed. Not that there is no value in sports, but that the price we pay (monetarily and otherwise) isn't commiserate with the value outside of the distraction. It's a distraction we (as societies) seem to value highly.

But I play video games and go to anime conventions which are pretty much the same thing with different levels of plusses and minuses (less competition for one).

 

[squealpiggy]

I'm not very interested in sports myself, but come on! This is ridiculous!

So sports is a great capitalist conspiracy to keep people distracted from politics and make them jingoistic. One wonders what kind of entertainment there will be in Chomsky's ideal society. Will we all sit and discuss politics all day?

The whole world will take part in a massive sporting contest in which he will be picked first for every event and he will gleefully cackle as the entire planet is picked last and he isn't. Also occasionally cry.

This is clearly going to be an unpopular view, but for the most part I agree with Chomsky. Except that sport isn't created in order to distract the masses, it's a natural part of society that is used to distract the masses. Panem et circenses, as it were.

Let's face it, an obscene amount of money is poured into sports that otherwise could feed the poor, wipe out the national debt - of several countries - ensure every child got a good education and develop clean renewable power for the world, and still have change for lunch.

Instead, we're treated at massive cost to this ridiculous weekly ritual where people in colourful costumes parade about kicking balls, or whacking them with sticks, or whatever. Just so one group of people can be declared better at an arbitrary and otherwise useless skill than another group of people.

Now, if you don't mind, I need to go find my asbestos underwear for the inevitable response.

Let's face it, an obscene amount of money is poured into movies that otherwise could feed the poor, wipe out the national debt - of several countries - ensure every child got a good education and develop clean renewable power for the world, and still have change for lunch.

Let's face it, an obscene amount of money is poured into TV dramas that otherwise could feed the poor, wipe out the national debt - of several countries - ensure every child got a good education and develop clean renewable power for the world, and still have change for lunch.

Let's face it, an obscene amount of money is poured into novels that otherwise could feed the poor, wipe out the national debt - of several countries - ensure every child got a good education and develop clean renewable power for the world, and still have change for lunch.

Let's face it, an obscene amount of money is poured into theatre that otherwise could feed the poor, wipe out the national debt - of several countries - ensure every child got a good education and develop clean renewable power for the world, and still have change for lunch.

That's the issue with this line of thinking. Yes, we would have the money to solve all of the world's problems if we could only stop distracting ourselves with all of the things that make life worth living. Some people don't care for sport. But not very many people don't have something which is objectively frivolous which they enjoy. There are any number of things you can enjoy doing that bear no relation to our societal function, but I don't want to be reduced to me societal function.

City Til I Die.

 

[Mycroft]

It's not ridiculous to say sports have elements of indoctrination and jingoism. Ever wonder why they play the national anthem before sporting events?

Why do you think "they" do?

Who do you think made the decision, and what do you think the intended result was?

 

[Mycroft]

I'm not very interested in sports myself, but come on! This is ridiculous!

I agree.

Chomsky may be correct (debatable) that sports does provide training in irrational jingoism, group cohesion behind leadership elements and irrational attitudes of submission to authority, but his mistake is in assuming that just because something happens that it was planned by someone. Who? When? If these questions can't be answered with evidence, then it's just a conspiracy theory.