Noam Chomsky on the role of sports in propaganda-based authority

[LooseWilly]

82. I'm curious to hear an elaboration of your theory of Chomsky's attribution to mass manipulation...

And more particularly... why you think the theory is wrong.

You, instead, "attribute" the phenomenon that Chomsky speaks of to "a response to legend, or more clearly, Joseph Campbell's 'Power of Myth' "...

Are you trying to deny that "the powers that be" not only encourage but actively foster the "behavior" in question by means of the "pep-rally" in schools?

I won't deny, though I'd like to were it not absurd to do so, that the Campbellian "Power of Myth" template of "loyalty netting" (my own half-baked spur-of-the-moment term for the effort to draw individuals into the "team spirit" represented by "team loyalty&quot by drawing individuals into the "mythology" of the team competition is one tool employed by the "pep-rally" crowd... but the use of Campbell's studies/techniques doesn't mean that there isn't some effort to use those studies/techniques as a tool of "mass manipulation".

I don't see Chomsky as saying that "the uses are statist, authoritarian, subversive, and manipulative"... but instead, subtly, saying that "the uses are" potentially and often "statist, authoritarian,... and manipulative" (I would like to see some support for the argument that he, or anyone, sees such uses of "team spirit" are "subversive" before I will parrot that adjective.)

Please elaborate on Debord's critique as well, if it is actually relevant. Since this is a thread dealing with Chomsky's criticism, I'm not feeling like bothering to chase down this particular potential red herring... if you'd like to somehow make this tangent seem relevant though, I might be convinced to do some reading.