Exploring the NBA Industry Base on “Immaterial Labor” Approach

• Main Authors: Jui-chih Chang, 張瑞志
• Other Authors: Yi-Ren Dzeng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/92562210979846493743

碩士 === 國立中山大學 === 政治學研究所 === 101 === This thesis explores the autonomy of professional athletes through theory of “immaterial labor”, and tends to use the case study of American NBA industry to reach this purpose. First of all, I reexamine Karl Marx’s labor theory to clearly portray the implication of laboring. Then, following the elucidation of Post-Marxist, Herbert Marcuse, I critically examine the process of the formation of cultural industry, in which the popularized artist creativities and its commercialization both catalyze this process. This development also stimulates change of type of laboring, i.e. the immaterial labor. Thus, my purpose is to explore the NBA athletes’ and players’ autonomy under the social background of immaterial labor, and analyze the specificity and uniqueness of professional sports industry. Through this inquiry, it’s obvious that NBA players (immaterial laborers) are still not able to get rid of their destiny under capitalist society, in which they are still capitalists’ tools of production, and their purpose of production is to cumulate capital for bourgeoisie. Therefore, those NBA players are not autonomous and under severe exploitation. Undoubtedly, to further observe the condition of contemporary society, this materialism- and commercialism-oriented social ambience is the main reason to cause the alienation of individuals.