1998 Volume 20 Issue 2 Pages 25-43
The purpose of this study is to show that the sport world should choose the common good based on the dispute between liberalist and communitarian.
Though the word liberalism is ambiguous, we define liberalism as the thought based on unencumbered selves (M. J. Sandel), which includes utilitarianism, deontological liberalism, or revisionist's liberalism. Needless to say, liberalism depends on civic virtues.
Liberal democracy in this century destroys the civic virtues, so that liberalism reaches the extreme relativism which denies the past and present values and goodness and affirms the unlimited selfishness, especially economic one.
In favor of communitarians' criticism, we agree with Sandel's contention of situated selves rather than ‘unencumbered selves’ and propose that we should make an effort to recover the common good in our society.
Turning to the sport world, we have gradually swept away its original ethics such as sportsmanship, fair play and the mind of social relationship in England in 19th century. And now the sport world also accepts the tendency of the unlimited self-interest, especially economic one.
The ethics of ordinary world has nothing to do with that of the sport world, but the latter bases on the former. In conclusion, we must note that the sport world should maintain the traditional common good because the ordinary world also needs to reinstate us in the common good.