The Olympics: A Sociological Perspective
- 1 June 1984
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in International Review for the Sociology of Sport
- Vol. 19 (2) , 113-127
- https://doi.org/10.1177/101269028401900202
Abstract
The modern Olympic Games have grown into a social and cultural spectacle without parallel in kind or scope. In spite of its goals of mutual understanding, the Olympic movement has been quite powerless in promoting peace and understanding. Rather, it has become an institution whose primary function is the consolidation of the existing order. Not the individual athlete but the nation-state is the primary unit of the Olympic system. Olympics are misused for political purposes. They depend on the world power balance and on business and are best described by the trinity of Nationalism, Commercialism and Athletism.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Politics of the Olympic GamesPublished by University of California Press ,1979
- Social Problems: A Re-FormulationSocial Problems, 1973