
Monopoly TM was designed to teach consumers about capitalism and income equality in family-fun game. Its education value comes from teaching math, the basics of finance and strategy.
When you played, were you learning how to count or were you playing to win by taking the other player’s money and property?
In hindsight, the game is cutthroat, vicious and based on greed. The real object of the game is economic conquest and by any means necessary.
Welcome to the game of Capitalism in America.
Monopoly Game Play
Once the game is over you can clear the board, start all over and let the fun continue. If it was that easy in real life, there would be far fewer suicides due to financial failure. They never tell you the truth that once you graduate high school, you are unwittingly playing for real.
Unlike playing the board game, in real life the profits gained from the previous game carry over to the next.next. The system does not favor those without wealth. Once the game starts again, you begin with nothing. Good luck winning against a hen permanent banker and is allowed to change the rules at any time.
This is your Sisyphean task. You start life at the bottom and attempt to climb out of poverty while everyone in a position of power conspires to keep you down. Each time tax cuts are given to the wealthy, that equates to lost revenue. Worse, the money from your stolen labor is given to the player with the most money and used to buy favors to consolidate and protect their power.
The game is designed to take away your money, property and ability to advance.
What the Monopoly board game omits
Roll the dice and you move around the board. The dice represent the actual cost to move around the game. It takes an income to play, and that usually means a job for people that were not born into good fortune.
You are playing a losing game. It is a game you can’t quit.
In capitalism, employers must pay employees a “minimum wage”. The legislative intent of this law was to ensure American workers working full time would earn enough to sustain a living without having to rely on government subsidies. Why do Republicans oppose this legislation today? Because capitalism demands employees earn the bare minimum to maximize profits.
Justifying this idea is the concept of minimum skill versus minimum wage. The capitalist system does not believe in rewarding employees for the effort they undertake to make profits for the company. Greed is one thing the game did not omit.
The cost of living is such that the workforce of America lives paycheck to paycheck. This puts stress and strain on families to decide which bill to omit due to a water heater failure, or emergency medical expenses. But that is the player’s problem, just keep showing up and keep rolling the dice. Capitalism demands it.
Wake up!
We have the power to change the game by voting.
Remember, it is the elected officials in Washington D.C. that created the system. We have the opportunity to elect candidates to reverse this course.
Voters should realize Republicans do not own the mantle in the area. Democrats should clean house as well because both parties get their money from the same place — Wall St.
It is election season. It is always election season. In less than two years Americans have the opportunity once again to send these candidates to our nation’s Capitol and affect legislation that will level the playing field.
We can change the game, we can make new rules.
Monopoly is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc.
I remember playing a game of capitalism in grad school in the 70’s called, The Sunflower Seed Game. Very instructive and took one class period. Do you know this game or have rules for it?
I’m actually trying to put a podcast together to cover these issues and answer questions that arise. Thank you for the feedback.