This Is No Game: The Perils of Seeing Politics as a Sport

Thinking of politics as a sport produces a warped conception of democracy that overlooks the people and elevates political elites.

Horse races. Slam dunks. The ground game. Sports metaphors are ubiquitous in American politics. In this book, Benjamin Darr catalogs and critiques the various ways that sports shape our popular perceptions of politics and elections, leading to misunderstandings, misconceptions, and mistakes in our expectations for democracy and how it should function. Seeing politics as a sport ultimately generates a warped conception of democracy which overlooks the people and glorifies elites. This happens via two broad paths. First, the role of the citizen is replaced by the fan, whose job is not to act in the common good, or even in one’s own interests, but to cheer from the stands for one’s favorite elite team. A second danger arises from an excessive focus on the strategy of the game of politics. This not only provides politicians with cover for broken promises but also points us to technical experts who tell us exactly how we should play the game, leading us toward micromanaged technocracy rather than democratic accountability. In these ways, thinking of politics as a sport often points us away from the ideals of democracy and instead toward the optimization of elite power.