The Olympics aren't happening

Around sixteen years ago, the late Jean Baudrillard wrote a book entitled something like ' The Gulf War Never Happened'. It was received with widespread incredulity.

I do not have the gravitas to expect such a response, or rather, any response at all.

Neverthess, if the Olympics are defined by sport, fair competition and so on, the Olympics aren't happening. In their place we observe (and participate in) a spectacle of global capitalism, brands and a country promoting its place (for some, badly) in the world arena. What is particularly pernicious is that the West uses China in such a way that our attention focuses away from the West's record on material inequality, unhindered corporate power and some of the other effects of unchecked capitalism.

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