I played Monopoly for the first time in nearly a decade over the holidays and lost. As a proud capitalist, I refused to lose in a game that people have always said is a small-scale representation of capitalism. I did some thinking and some research, and this is what I found. Monopoly is based on a game called The Landlord’s Game. The Landlord’s Game was designed as a teaching device to convince people of Henry George’s single tax idea. Essentially, Henry George recommended that everyone should only pay one tax based on land value. No other factors are accounted for in calculations, and no other taxes would be paid. Since that time, Monopoly has changed its rules to become a game based on players forcing each other into bankruptcy until one monopoly dominates the market. The version we know today has no government oversight of any kind; the only restriction is the roll of the dice. My initial thoughts were that modern monopoly has socialist tendencies because the “system” forces you to stay in expensive locations despite personal desire or ability to pay, and you were forced to compete with others. The second thought does not make sense because I willingly entered the market by playing the game; however, players are being forced to pay for things they do not want by the “system” (die roll). In conclusion, it seems that I am more of a sore loser than anything. The economic policies present are based on private entities in a market system fighting to become monopolies. Any socialist policies present in the game are included for game design purposes. If I want to succeed in a market system, I should get educated and create a real business, not play a game.
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