Feature
No.40
January 2004
 
    

Is there Actual Value to Sport in Capitalistic Societies?
Prof. Dr. H.c. H. Haag, M.S., Germany


Introductory Comments
The ongoing unification process in Germany commenced in 1989 and was directly experienced by the author living in Berlin between 1991 and 1994. The following analysis is based on primary experiences and on relevant information found in scientific literature, print media, as well as on television. It should be noted that the unification process was, and still is, a very exceptional process within the history of Germany, especially since it was realised in a peaceful way. This outcome could not have been determined at the beginning of this revolution since it came at the end of a longer evolution process. This process was also made exceptional as the breakdown of the west-east conflict related to it, along with the rest of world (both European and other countries), who had, and still have to go through these adaptation processes.

1 Capitalistic versus Communistic or Free lance economy versus Planned economy systems
Before dealing with the issue of sport in capitalistic societies, various definitions of a society – seen under the aspect of economy – have to be analysed.
  • Capitalistic means that the free and individual enterprise based on an available sum of money is the motor of the economy. There is only a small influence of the state and it is believed that the market is a selfregulating (autarkic) instrument.
  • Communistic means that the resources of a state are owned by all people of the state so that the motor for the economy is a collective one with only a minimum of influence is exerted by the individual.
  • Free lance economy means that the economic process is supposed to be self- regulating, without rules imposed by outside authorities like the state (government).
  • Planned economy means that the state as an authority is responsible for the economic process which is realised by various laws and regulations.
The two terms of capitalistic versus communistic systems are misleading, because the communistic systems were in fact also capitalistic. The economic power belonged here to the politicians in charge, composing of communist leaders. In reality, they were in a similar position as the leaders in a capitalistic society.
The main distinguishing sign is rather described by the terms free lance and planned. In other words, the degree of regulating and prescribing is the basic issue. One can even construct a continuum from absolutely free to complete planned, with many variations in between, on how an economic system can be organised.
Both extreme alternatives cannot be accepted. There is a small model for economic systems – called social market economy – which represents a compromise and which will be presented later in this analysis.

2 Definition and Understanding of Sport
Sport is a very complex part of society and is characterised as having many faces (compare Beyer, 1992; Haag, 1987; Röthig, 1992).
In this paper, the following definition, from the newly published dictionary by Haag & Haag (2003, pp. 472-474), is used:
“Originally an English term for amusement and play; short form of “disport” which means enjoyment (in old French desport, from Latin deportare = to enjoy oneself); collective term for all physical activities performed by people in the form of movement, play or competition. The sport of an era mirrors a specific human engagement and interaction with physical forces, which is mediated by the society and may range from self-presentation (active sport) to spectator participation (passive sport). Sport always contains an externally observable performance or (artistic) movement which can be attributed to personal ability being specifically improved (through training). Due to its simple testability, partly by means of objectified measurement (registering of the best performance as a record), sport functions as a means for personal confirmation and for social competition (sport competition). A general understanding of sport, according to which a sport performance is delivered in an inextricable bond with the spontaneity of the individual practicing sport on the self-made reality level of play, is in contrast with an absolute understanding of sport, according to which sport performance is regarded as a product and objectively quantifiable record mark detached from the individual.
The interpretation of sport as a human activity that has its purpose in itself (amateur sport, mass sport, recreational sport, holiday sport, etc.) is supplemented by a health and social-pedagogical justification for sport activity (compensatory sport, break callisthenics, etc.). Such justifications apply for sport education in general, but especially for school sport or other forms of sport supported by the government. Furthermore, attempts of explaining sport make recourses to cult origins, movement urge, aggression instinct, the need to present oneself, nationalism, etc. The social scientific interpretation views sport as a phenomenon growing synchronously with industrial society, which reveals its fundamental features - such as performance, competition, and equality principle - in a particularly evident manner; at the same time, exclusion of the worry about the future has the effect of immersion into a playful world of happy presence. On the other hand, certain presentations of sport, particularly in top-level sport, resemble the modern rationalisation process: making the world more scientific, quantification, decomposition, specialisation, systemati-sation, regulating, professionalisation, internationalisation, also bureaucratisation and centralisation (partly also perverting).
The possibilities for systematically categorising sport are as manifold and complex as the entire phenomenon of sport itself. Apart from the differentiation of sport into the different concrete » sport disciplines, active sport (including most sport disciplines) can be categorised under the following knowledge-guiding interests:
1. Justification of sport activity: enjoyment of movement and play (recreational, mass, holiday sport, small games), striving for personal achievement and recognising one’s limits (performance and top-level sport), counterweight to everyday and occupational life (leisure-time sport, remedial sport), striving for comparing performances (competitive sport), maintaining or renewing physical and mental well-being (health sport, compensatory sport, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, etc.), striving towards self-experience through social contacts (large games, club life), securing of existence (professional sport), striving for prestige (top-level sport).
2. The actors of sport: division into age categories (children’s, youth, adult, senior sport), according to gender (sport for boys and girls, sport for men and women), occupational criteria (pupil, student, company, professional sport), or other grouping characteristics (e.g. sport for the handicapped).
3. Time of engaging in sport activities: morning sport (morning callisthenics), break sport, sport after work, weekend sport, holiday sport, leisure-time sport, professional sport.
4. Organisational forms for sport activities: sport in school, club, university, company or police, sport in communal or church groups and in non-institutionalised forms.
However, sport does not only stand for the active practicing of sport, but also for a wealth of other possibilities of dealing with the phenomenon of sport (passive sport), e.g. participation (as a spectator) in sport events, the entire employment and honorary work in sport clubs and federations as well as the areas of sport science and sport journalism.”
This complexity has to be considered, when dealing with the phenomenon of sport and when analysing in the context of capitalistic societies.

3 Interpretation of the Construct Commercialisation
It has become quite obvious, that the world today is governed by economic and financial considerations. This trend has been strengthened by the globalisation and internationalisation of the world. Sometimes it even looks as if financial considerations are governing and directing the process of globalisation. A very concrete and loud warning has to be given in this context, as globalisation should not only mean that economic influence is spread all over the world, but that an equitable spread is achieved. At present, some world-wide operating companies grow wealthier while at the same time, among the poorer countries, poverty rises.
Looking at this development, one could assume that a capitalistic development that induces commercialisation is by its nature, a ‘bad thing’. The tendency that globalisation is predominantly linked to economy is indeed very dangerous, but one has to accept that politics, in essence, is economical politics, since in every political area the basic issue is money and its availability or absence.
Therefore, the purpose of this analysis, in regard to the value to sport in capitalistic societies, has to be based on a rational definition of commercialisation. This is described as a:
“term generally attributed with a negative connotation that stands for the subordination of idealistic, particularly cultural values (in this case of sport) under economical interests; this subordination is usually considered to be connected with a contextual degeneration for the purpose of improved usability. The problems related to commercialisation in sport can be found in different areas: the tension between pure recreational sport (mass sport) and professional or competitive sport (in this case even intensified by the ideology of amateurism); the utilisation of sport as a means for economic success for branches of the economy that are not particularly connected to sport, either indirectly involved in the form of advertising and sponsoring (advertisements on billboards or jerseys, paying popular athletes as representatives for a product) or directly involved by supplying sport equipment (e.g. providing sailboats) or sport facilities (e.g. indoor tennis courts, squash courts) in exchange for a fee, or in tourism. In order to judge commercialisation in sport it must be taken into consideration that not only the sport industry (e.g. facilities and equipment companies), but also sport itself represent considerable market-economical factors which are subject to the laws of a market economy and therefore also to commercialisation.”
Thus, it can be stated that commercialisation is linked to sport in its different “faces” or forms of realisation. It is important, however, that sport retains its relevance in decision making processes and that the social subsystem of sport is still “the master in the own house”.

4 Value to Sport in Five Dimensions of Sport in the Context of Capitalism
For the purpose of this analysis the following distinction of five dimensions is used in order to answer more clearly the actual value to sport in a capitalistic society.

4.1 Professional Sport
This is a very powerful and commercialised aspect of the whole field of sport. It has to be considered as an industry type sector in most societies. Therefore it is governed by economical constraints or regulations. The value to professional sport in capitalistic societies is very high, since sport as professional sport can be instrumentalised and used very easily and effectively.

4.2 Sport within State Institutions
This broad sector of sport includes Kindergarten, Schools, Colleges, Universities and other state institutions, which promote sport mostly as physical education. Since this sector of sport is not directly linked to the possibility of money and profit – generating, capitalistic societies are normally not so much interested in this sector of sport, as for example, compared to communistic societies.

4.3 Sport in Sport Clubs
The “Sport Club Movement” is a very strong one in many societies, especially within central Europe. If one does not consider sport clubs (or their section) as representing professional sport, the sport club movement as a whole – also mainly geared towards sport for all – is on one hand close to capitalistic societies, since it also relies on selfinitiative and own enterprise. On the other hand, there are no common values in regard to the unpaid honorary work, which is the basis of the sport club movement, since in capitalistic societies there is a tendency to think “what I do, I have to get paid for”.

4.4 Commercial Offerings for Sport
The sport club movement has received in the 1980´s and 1990´s competition from sport programmes offered by so called commercially oriented institutions and organisations. Very often these programmes are tailored to the needs and interests of people who like to engage themselves in sport and physical activity. Sport in this regard is valued very high in capitalistic societies since the commercial profit making idea is the basis of these enterprises like fitness studios, sport schools, sport academies, and tourist companies.

4.5 Private Sport
This sector of sport is often overlooked and overseen. However, it is obvious that a huge number of people engage individually in private sport. Therefore, there are on one side values accepted by both – sport and a capitalistic society (e.g. own initiative, independence, goal-orientation).
On the other side there is no fiscal economic win, since private sport very often is realised in modest set-ups, without a lot of financial engagement.
In summary one can see that the actual value to sport in capitalistic societies is ambivalent, sometimes clearly positive, sometimes negative. The reason for this ambivalence is that neither Capitalistic, Communistic, Free-lance or Planned strategies are, as extremes, good models to organise a society in an optimal way. A compromise of these could be the most effective method.

Concluding Comments
The suggested compromise model is called “social marked economy” and may be the answer when looking for a mode to organise a society in a proper way. This model values freedom, own initiative and personal responsibility. It also incorporates state-controlled corrective measures, where the wealth of all citizens has to be secured. This compromise model is not easy realise. It requires a high degree of education and personal integrity. However, it is the best option to also place a high value on sport.
The social sub-system of sport can also work proactively and change society and not only suffer from and complain about the bad actual value to sport.

References
Beyer, E. (Red.) (1992). Dictionary of Sport Science. 2nd ed. Schorndorf: Hofmann.
Haag, H. (Hrsg.) (1987). Schülerduden Sport. Mannheim: Dudenverlag.
Haag, H. & Haag, G. (Eds.) (2003). Dictionary: Sport - Physical Education – Sport Science. Kiel: ISS.
Röthig, P. (Red.) (1992). Sportwissenschaftliches Lexikon. 6. Aufl. Schorndorf: Hofmann.


Prof. Dr. H.c. H. Haag, M.S.
Institute for Sport and Sport Sciences
University of Kiel, Kiel Germany
Ohlshausenstr. 74
24098 Kiel
Tel: +49 (0) 431 / 880-3772
Fax: +49 (0) 431 / 880-3773
E-mail: sportpaed@email.uni-kiel.de




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