Note that the site is in archived, read-only mode. You can browse and read, but posting is disabled.
Welcome to Anarchy101 Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers about anarchism, from anarchists.

Note that the site is in archived, read-only mode. You can browse and read, but posting is disabled.

Categories

0 votes
If we had anarchy , would be there games like the world cup or the olympic games?
by (160 points)

2 Answers

+1 vote
Accepting the global-anarchy/ATR premise (which is itself a game), I'd say it depends where the emphasis in that sentence lies. Would there be games (like,  for example, the world cup or the olympic games)? Absolutely, and arguably more, but we might also expect that our current approach to entertainment and play as a cathartic opposite to work would dissolve--in other words, there is something about our common situation that makes us imagine these games as games, when in the real event that framework might not fit.

Would there be games that are very much like the world cup/olympics? Certainly not, since nationalism and capitalism make up most of what defines those games.

Would there be games that, like the world cup/olympics, take place at an international scale? It's a fine idea, but they would probably be very slow, because I don't think international communications and transporatation infrastructure would function as it does now. And they would be more about the experience and its retelling, and less about spectation.

PS - If you want a less-ATR and more 'today' answer, a lot of world cup and olympics have been resisted by anarchists. There are texts, zines, propaganda, demo report-backs, etc that talk a lot about why resist these events. But I imagine that's not what you're looking for?
by (20.5k points)
No I'm not asking fod a today answer.

So you want to say that there would be games like the world cup but not the same? Am I right?

I'm asking because anarchist don't want borders , nationa etc but the Olympics/world cup is about that . Every country plays for itself
"Certainly not, since nationalism and capitalism make up most of what defines those games."

"And they would be more about the experience and its retelling, and less about spectation. "

yep.  those 2 lines of thought summarize what would have been my answer.

a globalized spectacle is nothing i would want in my anarchistic world. some fun and competitive games between folks that are into them (and some others that are into watching them) - cool!
I have a picture in my head of a(n association) football game in the street, the sidewalks thronged with cheering hordes/bewildered bystanders, as the ball goes down the street...  And the horde, (and the goalposts,) and the game are constantly on the move.  Maybe a riot in the background (that world cup meme thingy...)  Or bulls!  Yes, bulls!  _That_ would be a spectacle!

One good(ish) thing about the world cup or the olympics is the very rich people doing very stupid things very publicly, which usually results in the peasants revolting.  Pity it never seems to last.  :(
+1 vote
Basing my answer on the context you've given:

Anarchists already host international sporting events from time to time! Just recently there was a group in Eastern Europe that hosted an international martial arts tournament which drew participation from other countries.

Assuming this continues to be possible in the future (which really is an assumption), I'd say that there would probably be a number of major differences between anarchist sporting events and World Cup/Olympic events - for instance, a lack of nationalist overtones and the concept of "representing your nation".
by (8.7k points)
...