Democratic Sportsmanship Contested Games and Political Ethics | Andrew Sabl - Academia.edu

Abstract: One of the central virtues in a democracy is what might be called democraticsportsmanship: a willingness to lose gracefully and still keep playing. Nothingis more common, however, than for different political actors to see one anotheras bad sports. This essay explores, and distinguishes, three different reasons why conict can occur. Players can disagree over how the game should best be played; over which game is being played; or over the degree to which settled rules are desirable in the rst place. In the rst case, arguments among playersand spectators are more tractable than they seem, even salutary. In the second, they are less salutary but also less dangerous than commonly thought, due to modern polities’ ability to mix games and to adopt side constraints independent of the rules of any particular game. The third case is more dangerous but alsoan occupational hazard only of leaders, who must be brought to appreciatethe virtues of settled rules and institutionalized roles on grounds that mostordinary citizens already recognize.