The civilising process and sport

Elias and Dunning: self-restraint, the monopoly of violence, the quest for excitement and the sportisation of games.

The outline, topic by topic

Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.

Civilising process: what is it?
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The slow change in behaviour in Europe since the Middle Ages towards more control of impulses and violence.
Violent games became regulated sports.
Over the centuries rugby bans more and more dangerous moves. How would Elias explain it?
- By society's falling threshold of tolerance for violence
- By pressure from broadcasters wanting more spectacle
- By the upper classes' search for distinction
- By capitalist sport's demand for output
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By society's falling threshold of tolerance for violence
What was acceptable became shocking: the rules followed.
Self-restraint: what is it?
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The control individuals exercise over their own emotions, without needing to be forced.
External constraint becomes internal.
Why is sport not, for Elias, a return to violence?
- It removes all emotion in favour of technique alone
- It gives free rein to violence, but away from the public
- It stages a contest controlled by rules and by oneself
- It names no winner so as to avoid grudges
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It stages a contest controlled by rules and by oneself
Sport releases emotions within a frame of self-restraint.
Monopoly of legitimate violence: what is it?
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The concentration of the legitimate use of force in the hands of the State.
Max Weber's notion, taken up by Elias: private violence declined; sport offered a controlled contest.