Abstract
The extreme competitiveness in American sports limits the possibility of mass citizen participation. Highly competitive sports are not enjoyable for most participants, except the very best, and sports facilities are often only available to these same select few. In any event, sports participation is often seen as impossible by most citizens since they do not measure up to the image of sports superstars found in the mass media. Also, rampant competition often leads to high levels of sports violence and a dehumanization of both competitors and spectators. Such sports competition based on individual excellence is not found in China where collective, nationwide excellence and breadth of participation are emphasized. The widespread ethic of individual excellence and individual competition in sports seems to be a product of international capitalism, since both international capitalism and the sports empire are dominated by the same groups of people and com petitive sports serve the interests of international capitalism very well.
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