11/05/24
March 03, 2005
The Philosophy of Basketball (and its Relation to Capitalism, Democracy and Socialism): A Marxist explains how basketball is a lens for bringing sociopolitical realities and ideals into focus: "Unfortunately, few of the people who love teamwork in basketball, which hides their desire for more cooperation in life, which in turn calls for the spread of democracy throughout society, are likely to admit that what they really want - and need - is socialism." A coffeehouse riff he actually wrote down, maybe.
posted by Uncle Toby to culture at 08:04 PM - 7 comments
Intriguing at first, dull at last. The "buying the game" idea was a brilliant illustration of how the wealthiest in our society operate, but the rest was, as billsaysthis said, a serious stretch.
posted by dusted at 12:35 AM on March 04, 2005
I saw a really neat NBA Action piece recently on Yao Ming, China and basketball, and apparently the sport is a favourite of the communists for the same reasons as pointed out in the article. That said, I got the impression that it was more of a rant than anything, one that didn't really know the sport of basketball very well. We don't just love teamwork, we also love the shows of individual brilliance -- so long as they are contextually appropriate. Great find, though, Uncle Toby.
posted by smithers at 10:44 AM on March 04, 2005
What does it mean if you're cheering for the coach to go down and beat the ever lovin' tar out of the players until they cooperate and start acting like a team?? Does that mean what you really want - and need - is Facism?? If you root for the Blazers do you want - and need - Rastafarianism?? I for one have always believed that sports appeals to us because it is a fair competition when so few competitions in life are. This moron would penalize a Lion for being a Lion, and then would try to feed the Gazelle on Wildebeast Haunch. What he should have learned from Basketball is that not every foul draws a whistle, star players never foul out, and if you're a nobody standing next to the star player when that whistle does blow, you're taking the foul for him.
posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:32 PM on March 04, 2005
Lots of his comments are dead on, until he makes a blatant straw man argement with the whole "society = $$$$$" crap.
posted by chmurray at 03:17 PM on March 04, 2005
I would like to have seen an analysis of different game tactics and how these relate to different political philosophies. I think there could be some merit in this. The former Norwegian football manager Egil Olsen is an avowed Marxist. Anyone who ever saw his mind-numbingly negative teams in the 1990s couldn't fail to observe that he went for the 0-0 draw from the start, and then relied entirely on the chance of an opposition making one simple defensive error for the remote possibility of a goal. One was reminded of Karl Marx's maxim that capitalism would be brought down by its own contradictions. Well, there was always a lot of time to think...
posted by owlhouse at 05:24 PM on March 05, 2005
Glancing at the passage with the link given,I just think that almost every game is being run or controled by $$$,and as Smithers said above"I saw a really neat NBA Action piece ",but we could still grap several untidy pieces there:players are like products being exchanged easily between teams,on one stage,we should admit that this may help a team replenished,for instance,while this term Steven Nash enrolled the Sun,he guided them leaping up in a short period of time and unpredictablely got the first! On the other sight,some manager's of a team may sweep out the old ones rather than preserve the news though some olds are experienced and talented.When we were heeping slanders upon Kobe Bryant,claiming that he was the likest one kicking out O'Neal&Jackson,some media guessed that the Laker's manager stretched Kobe as a money-making tree while Shaq wasn't able to do that comparatively. Digging out an excellent player is showing up all the time,permanently.Fair/Unfair?Well,I can say:It's just a tide,and the substance of that,it's a game itself,really.
posted by luckygirl9 at 03:51 AM on March 06, 2005
Analogies can be stretched thin enough to snap. Sports is interesting, politics is boring.