Jean-Marie Brohm

Who is Jean-Marie Brohm?

Jean-Marie Brohm is a French sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher. Professor of sociology at the University of Montpellier III, he was also the founder of the journal Quel Corps ?, member of the editorial staff of the monthly Répertoire and is actually director of the journal Prétentaine. Brohm has written many books and is the leading proponent of the radical critique of sport in France.

According to Brohm the “[....] critical theory of sport is founded on three principal axes:

1) Sport is not simply sport but a means of government, a means of pressure on public opinion and a mode of ideological framing of the populations and of parts of the youth, and this in all countries of the world, in totalitarian countries as well as in so called democratic countries. This was noticeable during the big political events which were the Olympic Games in Moscow, the soccer championship in Argentina and, more recently, in France.

2) Sport has become a sector of accumulation of wealth, money, and therefore also of capital. It attracts considerable amounts of money; I would even say today it is the most spectacular showcase of the globalized society of commodities.