Letter to the Editors from the September 2012 issue of the Socialist Standard
Olympics?
Dear Editors
Isn’t the Olympic “Games” a bit of a misnomer?
In the midst of the festival of chauvinism dedicated to UK Capitalism plc, at least the BBC is honest enough to admit what it’s really all about in the article “Olympic success: How much does an Olympic gold medal cost?” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19144983).
So much for Pierre de Coubertin’s Olympic Creed “Le plus important aux Jeux olympiques n’est pas de gagner mais de participer, car l’important dans la vie ce n’est point le triomphe mais le combat; l’essentiel, ce n’est pas d’avoir vaincu mais de s’être bien battu.” [“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part, because the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”]
It seems to have been replaced by the tenet “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”
Still, capitalism poisons everything, so why should sport be immune.
Martyn Dunmore,
Brussels
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