Jackie Summers sees Monopoly as the perfect example of economic disparity, even with the premise of supposed equality among players.
The premise is simple.
You start off with $1,500. You circle the board unchallenged once, and you receive an additional $200 for having completed this (rather unimpressive) task. Then, you begin buying property. The rest of the game is comprised of you dealing/competing with other players to see who can amass the most wealth. The player with the greatest combined value of cash and assets, wins.
Welcome to Monopoly, one of the most popular board games of all time, and a microcosm for socioeconomic class distinctions in a democratic, capitalist society.
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As a child I learned some essential tricks to success in the game of Monopoly. First, luck counts. You can’t control the roll of the dice, but when opportunity presents itself, be prepared. Landing on Boardwalk isn’t enough; if and when it happens, you have to be able to afford it.
Second, always make deals that are in favor of the other person, if that’s what you need to move forward. This rule of strategy eludes most, as even children can be Machiavellian in their negotiations. In a game where the guy with the most wins at the end, I always found giving people what they needed to succeed first was a fast track to my own success. Be overly generous, to the point of seeming absurdity, once. Anyone who refused my generosity a first time, found me less so when they were in need.
Last and maybe most important, there’s a delicate balance between liquidity and assets. Some players just like having large amounts of cash on hand; unfortunately this doesn’t generate passive income. Others liked to accumulate properties, leaving themselves cash-strapped and thus, unable to make capital improvements, or worse, pay their creditors.
This three-tiered approach made me an absolute terror on the pale blue square. I got good; so good the family stopped wanting to play with me. I became so indomitable at Monopoly that nowadays, when the family sees fit to engage me, it’s never “every man for themselves.” It is “all of us against him, whatever it takes to keep him from winning, again.”
It never works. In the face of their combined forces, I win anyway, and then no one else feels like playing.
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Developed and marketed during the Great American Depression, Monopoly creates the fantasy for players that, with a little luck and an easily developed skill-set, anyone can be a winner. Most successful businesspeople will endorse the value of my three tenets for winning at Monopoly: be prepared, know how to negotiate, and understand the dynamics of cash flow. Unfortunately, mastering these basic skills rarely translates into success in the business world for the average person, as reality removes certain basic advantages that are built into the presumptions of the game. First, that you start the game with $1,500–or $1.5m adjusted for inflation. Second, that opportunities for creating passive income will present themselves simply by circumnavigating “the board.” Last, and maybe most important: you’ve been invited to play.
Those inherent advantages are significant, not easily overcome, and often taken for granted by those already in their possession.
This is not to say that everyone can or should have equal advantages. The (supposed) existence of equal rights does not preclude vast differences in natural individual abilities, available resources, or work ethics. The playing field never has been and never will be level. Even in a true egalitarian society, there will always be hierarchy.
The playing field never has been and never will be level. Even in a true egalitarian society, there will always be hierarchy.
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Therein lies the problem: equal opportunities are rarely equal. Vast discrepancies in quality exist between public and private education. Social networks developed in institutions of higher learning form the basis of potential future business relationships. And no matter how finely tuned your negotiating skills are, lacking proper capitalization, the best ideas will never see fruition. Unless someone who’s already wealthy invites you to sit down at the table, the opportunity to play simply never materializes. Behind every “rich” person is a wealthy individual (or group of individuals) offering stewardship–usually in exchange for a percentage of the pie.
In other words, you can only get rich with the help of the wealthy. And, frankly, they’re not particularly inclined to offer assistance.
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Classism can be defined as the deliberate act of creating and maintaining income disparity. It’s sewn into the fabric of civilization, creating a frail balance upon which all (feigned) civility hinges. It’s instrumental to a stable society and simultaneously detrimental, as unsettling the delicate balance creates class warfare, and as any student of history–ancient or recent–knows, class warfare precedes actual warfare. Here’s why:
It’s well documented that in most “civilized” nations, a disproportionally small percentage of the population controls the majority of the wealth. The general populace willingly concedes the right of governance to the minority who controls the distribution of resources, based on two conditions:
A) that the basic needs of constituents are met, and
B) that no matter how minuscule, the possibility of leaving the “have-nots” and becoming a “have,” exists.
When those base conditions go unmet, the proletariat rise up. Systems get overturned, and governments get overthrown. Does anybody remember the French Revolution? No? How about the recent revolt in the streets of Egypt?
Economic imperialism inevitably collapses under the weight of its own greed. Profound economic inequality is the fuel for social unrest.
The truly interesting part is how important the investment in selling the dream of potential wealth to the poor is to maintaining the inequality. Entertainment flaunts the lifestyles of the wealthy. Lotteries generate huge revenues for the state. Books like Think and Grow Rich by inspirational visionary Napoleon Hill have sold in excess of 70 million copies worldwide; Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki sold over 26 million copies.
Where are all of those millionaires?
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Wealth is no panacea. There’s no evidence supporting the idea that excesses of money alleviate problems in their entirety; rather it creates a different set of problems, one of them being the luxury of wondering about the problems of wealth. While it’s true that money might not buy happiness, it will certainly make your ennui very comfortable. Last year Mercedes experienced double-digit growth, BMW doubled it’s quarterly profit, and first half profits at Porsche rose an astonishing 59%.
Economic imperialism inevitably collapses under the weight of its own greed. Profound economic inequality is the fuel for social unrest.
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Meanwhile, 64% of Americans would be crushed under the weight of a $1,000 emergency. This approach is the proverbial recipe for disaster. When the words of Mahatma Ghandi, “Live simply, that others may simply live,” are not only forgotten but rubbed in the faces of those trying to eek out a living, it’s only a matter of time before it stops being “every man for themselves,” and becomes “all of us against them, whatever it takes to keep them from winning, again.”
This game is doomed to failure. How much longer before the masses simply get tired of playing?
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I love analogies involving Monopoly. I stopped playing when I realized that no matter what happened, I was always the guy who landed in jail because of a bad die roll, while everyone else snapped up all the property. Then, after three games in a row where I landed on Park Place with a hotel already on it, followed by rolling snake-eyes, and hitting Boardwak (also with a hotel already on it), I understood how critical luck is, and how outrageous mine is. So I stick to chess, and strategy games with no dice, no dealt cards, and as little… Read more »
Personality-wise, it has made me an extremely analytical and risk-averse person. Whenever I’m considering doing something, and people say “go for it! What’s the worst that can happen?” I tell the stories of the last few times I tried to do something similar, and what happened. Usually the worst that can, and has happened, is worse than most people imagine. Lucky to still be alive kinda sums it up. I dunno how much further I want to push things…
An African American comedian once noted that pool was a racist game. The white ball eliminated all the colored and half colored (striped) balls. If the white ball fell in a pocket, it always came back and the game wasn’t over until it got rid of the black one.
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You perhaps got it too correct: in a system that rewards skill, intelligence, and the ability to correctly gage risk/reward scenarios, there are no starting conditions that result in equal outcomes. The profitable small business will produce income for reinvesting, while the borderline one will suck the time and money of the owner down a bottomless hole. Give everyone an equal chance, and they will rapidly stratify themselves. As long as you’re playing an analogue of a game that has losers, your world will have losers.
The right model for scarcity, uneven resources, and inequal opportunity isn’t Monopoly. It’s Lego.
Great Article, Jackie. I’ve often felt the same way about Monopoly… and often refer to the fat cats of society as just playing a game of Monopoly with little regard for the other players. Good point about the books like Think and Grow Rich and Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The only people who got rich from those books were the authors 🙂
For real businesses, the goal is to establish large or small monopolies while, at the same time, preaching free enterprise and competition, a contradiction. They’re liars, and the public is still buying it.
Henry as an entrepreneur and small business owner, I have to say: I love competition. What would I do if I didn’t have impossible obstacles to overcome and insurmountable competition to crush?
But you’re spot-on; it’s easier for big corps to eliminate than to innovate.
JFB
Hmm. It seems to me the article points at the problem, but doesn’t offer any solution. Hence it’s quite shallow. Blaming doesn’t solve anything. I’m okay with the historical references: when (poor) people is really fed up, yes, they revolt. But… what could be a better alternative? A working way to a better economic balance? I didn’t read any here. I think greed and egoism is built-in into human nature; so appeals like Gandhi’s aren’t going far. Maybe cultivating a vision centered about deep “inner” satisfaction, rather than outward gain? Philosophers and sages have been suggesting that for millennia… alas,… Read more »
Crescendo63, your response offers no solution either. Ignoring a problem–or criticizing those trying to discuss it intelligently–rarely makes it go away.
What would YOU suggest as actual steps towards eradicating economic inequality?
JFB
I think the answer is in the penultimate paragraph — Live simply, that others may simply live.
In a democratic society, the answer is usually the same. Vote for people who get it, and will make good laws to protect everyone. And get as many other people as you can to vote for those people.
I thought it was a little further down:
“How much longer before the masses simply get tired of playing?”
Opt out en masse.
The truth may be somewhere in-between. A little revolt every now and then shakes up the powers that be and realigns things. Hopefully this comes at the lowest possible cost to all involved.
JFB
Wow! I love this article! Thank you!
Well said Jacks – It seems to me that the masses ARE tired of playing a game they cannot win. The most recent round of evisceration of the smaller players was so blatant as to enrage even those (perhaps especially those) who imagined themselves on their way to being ‘haves’. With hope ripped from their chests like a Mayan sacrifice takes a heart, they have little left but anger and a very large desire for revenge. The ‘have nots’ must be allowed at least the illusion that they too, might one day sit at the table instead of in the… Read more »
Wow. Really great piece. Thank you.
Great stuff…A deep dive into the consequences of unchecked wealth inequality.
Very thought-provoking article. One of the best I’ve read at the GMP.