Sport in Capitalist Society: A Short History

Tracing the history of modern sport from its origins in the burgeoning capitalist economy of mid-eighteenth century England to the globalised corporate sport of today, this book argues that, far from the purity of sport being 'corrupted' by capitalism, modern sport is as much a product of capitalism as the factory, the stock exchange and the unemployment line. Based on original sources, the book explains how sport has been shaped and moulded by the major political and economic events of the past two centuries.

Sport in a Capitalist Society is the first sustained attempt to explain the emergence of modern sport around the world as an integral part of the globalisation of capitalism. It is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the history or sociology of sport, or the social and cultural history of the modern world.

Author: Tony Collins
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 04/03/2013
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780415813563

About the Author

Tony Collins is Professor of History and Director of the International Centre for Sports History & Culture at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. He is the author of several books, including Rugby's Great Split and A Social History of English Rugby Union, and was a lead consultant for the 2012 BBC Radio 4 series Sport and the British.