Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession

by Francesco Duina

Why winning doesn't always lead to happinessMost of us are taught from a young age to be winners and avoid being losers. But what does it mean to win or lose? And why do we care so much? Does winning make us happy? Winning undertakes an unprecedented investigation of winning and losing in American society, what we are really after as we struggle to win, our collective beliefs about winners and losers, and much more.Francesco Duina argues that victory and loss are not endpoints or final destinations but gateways to something of immense importance to the affirmation of our place in the world. But Duina also shows that competition is unlikely to provide us with the answers we need. Winning and losing are artificial and logically flawed concepts that put us at odds with the world around us and, ultimately, ourselves. Duina explores the social and psychological effects of the language of competition in American culture.Primarily concerned with our shared obsessions about winning and losing, Winning proposes a new mind-set for how we can pursue our dreams, and, in a more satisfying way, find our proper place in the world.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Francesco Duina is Professor of Sociology at Bates College, as well as Honorary Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia and Visiting Professor of Business and Politics at the Copenhagen Business School. He is the author of several books, including Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession (2011).

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sociology text (which may explain why I delayed returning to and finishing it); one problem is its redundancy with summaries at the end of each chapter and in the conclusion.

One of the advantages of this is the clarity of the argument and its incremental advancement. Duane thinks US citizens somewhat immature in their devotion to "winning," especially in matters that are inconsequential. I came to this from reading The Winner-Take-All Society some years ago and the US President's insistence that he win every confrontation, no matter how inconsequential.

I have also, for a long time, derided the significance of "winning" in collegiate athletics, having been an undergraduate at one national football power and a graduate student at two basketball champion outfits. The foolishness exhibited by the undergrads and, worse, by the alums not to mention the absurd lengths institutions of "higher" education go to field teams of unexamined (UNC) and unindicted (FSU) students disgusts, while the "governing" institution (NCAA) sits on its money-grubbing hands and asserts "amateurism"; it is hard to say who has modeled its behavior on whom, the NRA on the NCAA or vice versa.

Anyway, Duina has a good argument, one that is a winner outside of a capitalist psychology. Let's keep this to the significance of competition for those involved in the contest; the rest is nonsense or plain greed.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Culturaling speaking, author suggests Americans adopt other ways of looking at winning and losing and use those words with caution.

[Ariadna73 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the message of this book: victory is not what people want. If that were the case; NBA champions would be playing against high-school teams in order to ensure the much wanted prize. That is not the case: people want the chase; the risk; the challenge. But they also want to win; because when we win; there is no questioning. The winner is right. It is the loser the one who has to reflect on what he did or failed to do. It is the loser who is trapped in the reflexion activity; and it appears as very few like to think about life and mistakes made.

[Mahad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winning hypothesizes that Americans are consumed by competition, and this results in negative consequences for us. But we are not aware of the consequences. Even worse, we are not aware of why we need competition so essentially. The impact of winning and losing is not only destructive but also invisible.

[James Byrn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Important Read

There wasn't a whole lot necessarily ground-breaking in this book, but it does raise important points about American Society's obsessions with winning and offers alternatives to always living in a competitive mindsets while still finding fulfillment in life. Worth the read.

[University of Chicago Magazine]

Francesco Duina, AB’91, AM’91
Author

From our pages (Nov–Dec/10): "In sports, entertainment, politics, education, and business, Americans are taught that it’s better to win than lose. Sociologist Duina examines the social and psychological costs of our national obsession with competition."

[Mills College Library]

303.37209 D874 2011