Fun fact: Monopoly originated from “The Landlord’s Game” created in 1903 by Elizabeth Magie, an anti-monopolist who designed it to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land ownership.
And we only play half the game. Public Housing is supposed to be on Free Parking, the same way Just Visiting is on the Jail space. Once you’re bankrupt you go to public housing until all but one player is there. Then you start the Prosperity portion of the game, and everyone wins. Just like communism done properly.
There was also a much less popular version of the game called Finance! Basically the same rules as Monopoly, but with a completely different skin on the board.
There is a Public Assisstence board game from the 80s. We had one when I was younger. I can’t tell if it was a “anti-welfare” game or just making fun of the whole system. I grew up pretty poor, so I always assumed the latter as a kid. Since the welfare track was easier from what I remember, now I’m not so sure, lol.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3393/public-assistance/images
I remember that game. My dad got it from a very conservative/racist family member - with a note that read something like “too bad I’m white and have to work for my money.”
I don’t think my dad ever talked to him again.
Yeah seems like it was more capitalist propaganda. Thanks Lemmy for ruining my childhood memory, lol.
It also had a second rule set where a land value tax was implemented, and the winning condition was when everyone made a minimum amount of money.
A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements upon it.[1] It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value rating.
Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic inefficiency, and helps reduce economic inequality.[2] A land value tax is a progressive tax, in that the tax burden falls on land owners, because land ownership is correlated with wealth and income.[3][4] The land value tax has been referred to as “the perfect tax” and the economic efficiency of a land value tax has been accepted since the eighteenth century.[1][5][6] Economists since Adam Smith and David Ricardo have advocated this tax because it does not hurt economic activity, and encourages development without subsidies.
LVT is associated with Henry George, whose ideology became known as Georgism. George argued that taxing the land value is the most logical source of public revenue because the supply of land is fixed and because public infrastructure improvements would be reflected in (and thus paid for by) increased land values.[7]
It’s just a stupidly good tax policy, and we should be implementing it in more places.
This is the most capitalistic game on the market and you still get a $200 UBI
It’s clearly labeled as your salary.
Both of those things are part of the joke. Monopoly is a parody of capitalism, intended to make you hate rich people. The luxury tax is tiny, reflecting how there’s no real cost of living for rich people. Rich people can “go to jail”, but it’s trivial to get away again.
It was originally called The Landlords Game.
Can’t you buy your way out of jail?
yep, that’s the point
We clearly have had very different experiences. Monopoly teaches financial planning.
Last game I had I was rocking up on my brother’s properties (which had hotels on them) so before I rolled the dice I bought a cheap property from my neice (the youngest player in the game) with all of my money, then then sold all of my property (including the one I just bought for all of my money) to her for $1. Rolled the dice, landed on my brother’s property and handed him the $1 I had left and was out of the game.
Had I not done so, I would’ve been bankrupt and had to hand over my property to my brother and it would have been an easy win for him at that point. As it was, the game was actually competitive.
So the lessons learned: 1) regulation can lead to a more competitive market, 2) If you’re about to go bankrupt, transfer all of your assets to a family member and 3) Monopoly sucks and people will hold grudges over what you do in that stupid game.
the main mechanic to even get the opportunity to do anything is literally dice rolls. the game is very explicitly that if you luck out to get ahead you dominate and if you don’t then you’re fucked.
Monopoly is literally capitalist propaganda. Parker Brothers basically stole the game from its creator and then offered $500 for the rights. They modified the game to be more focused on owning everything.
Cautionary Tales has a great episode about Lizzie J. Magie and how she originally created the Landlord’s Game.
https://timharford.com/2021/05/cautionary-tales-do-not-pass-go/
How is it capitalist propagarda exactly? Parker Brothers might have screwed her over, but it’s impossible to come out of a game of monopoly feeling more symphatetic towards landlords than when you started.
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Only one person can win when it comes to property ownership
Meaning, at the end of the game, more people hate the rich than are the rich. It’s not capitalist propaganda.
I.e., perfect satire of the current system?
It’s more ironic than satirical. Parker Brothers has absolutely used their power as a large game publisher to squeeze out smaller competitors.
The game is (still) a satirical version of the real housing market, and anybody with half a brain gets the impression of unfairness after a game of monopoly. This is unrelated to the fact that parker brothers is making a lot of money with the game
anybody with half a brain gets the impression of unfairness after a game of monopoly.
The trouble is, their incorrect takeaway is that Monopoly is a bad game, instead of the correct takeaway that Monopoly is an excellent demonstration of a bad system. Parker Brothers’ removal of the “prosperity” ruleset ruined any educational value it had.
This is propaganda
It feels great to own everything
I bet it does though
I mean, there isn’t really much evidence it does though, feeling good from being wealthy mostly comes down to not being worried about your material welfare and stability. Beyond that, owning everything really doesn’t make people any happier or more actualized as people. It is just an empty drug that unlike more fun drugs, hurts a massive amount of people every time you take it.
How do they even study such a thing? Ask megawealthy if they’re happy and they’ll ask something “modest” like “it’s alright, you know life was so simple when I was poor” lol
It’s the Law of Diminishing Returns and has been studied extensively in Economics.
On a personal level?
Mostly they don’t, especially because this kind of realization is an existential threat to the entire high end luxury industry.
Is it too much to ask to get more people like Crassus instead of the lameass modern wealthy people. I want private armies with billionaire generals waging stupid wars
Jail is the best place to be lategame. Don’t have to pay someone rent if you can’t move. And no risk of picking up a tax card.
It’s not a punishment to sit in jail, it’s a privilege, if I could. I’d spend the entire game in jail. It’s the only place you’re safe.
I thought you can’t collect rent while in jail?
This is from Hasbro themselves
Even though you are in Jail, you may buy and sell property, buy and sell houses and hotels and collect rents.
Prison. Not jail.
Jails are temporary holding areas until you get to see a judge. Which means you could still be innocent at that point.
Prisons are for folks that have been prosecuted. They belong in prison.
Get the fuck out. In monopoly it’s called Jail. And Monopoly is the topic being discussed.
So no one cares about if it’s called Prison or Jail in the real world. We’re not talking about the real world. We’re talking about Monopoly.
Tell that to Hasbro then and not the random internet person talking about the game mechanic which the game calls Jail.
Thanks for the clarification smartypants. So did you already send an email to hasbro to get the monopoly board game fixed, or should one of us do it instead?
What are monopoly players prosecuted for?
Jail and prison are synonymous. Your distinction in terminology is localised.
Nope. They aren’t. They have different meanings no matter where you are. You just hear a lot of people misusing the word due to a lack of education.
You should read what you link to (emphasis mine).
Jail and prison are often used interchangeably as places of confinement. If you want to be specific jail can be used to describe a place for those awaiting trial or held for minor crimes, whereas prison describes a place for criminals convicted of serious crimes.
You said:
Jails are temporary holding areas until you get to see a judge. Which means you could still be innocent at that point.
You can be convicted and in jail, which makes perfect sense in Monopoly, since it’s generally for a shorter period of time. They are both synonymous for the purpose of imprisoning somebody but different on how drastic the crimes you are behind bar for. In my opinion you should be in jail for minor crimes and not put in prison and it’s perfect for Monopoly.
You should take your own advise.
While key differences exist between jails and prisons — jails typically house people awaiting trial and those serving short sentences, while prisons confine convicts long term — the Justice Department’s study remains illustrative of life behind bars….
Not only can rich people go to jail, it’s actually beneficial to be locked up there after a certain point and the board is all bought up and filled with hotels. Can’t lose your cash to other players if you never move around the board 😌
TIL that back in the good ol’ days of The Gilded Age there was a luxury tax and rich people went to jail!
The Carnegies and Rockefellers, the Morgans and Vanderbilts must have been quaking in their spatterdashes!EDIT: It is, at very best, utterly useless to view the past with rose-tinted glasses.
And you can buy houses
You can not only buy houses, you can trade, participate in auctions and collect rent while in jail.
IIRC you can pay to get out of jail
Yes. You may pay the $50 fee before rolling your first or second turn. On the third turn if you do not roll a double you must pay the $50. In any case you pay $50 at some point unless you roll doubles or use the “get out of jail free” card.
Also there is free parking.
Free parking is the root of all evil
That’s a good point, and made me wonder if the Georgist who made the original would have been silly enough to include it.
Answer: nope, of course she knew better. In the original, that square is labeled “poorhouse”/“public park” (not “-ing”) instead.
They may end up going to jail, but they are quickly released, seemingly randomly!
I miss the old Twitter.
Monopoly the game
I thought we were talking about monopolies.
it could be a SF game
Games have always been about wishful thinking
