Monopoly is one of the most popular and iconic board games in the world, with millions of copies sold in over 100 countries and 37 languages. Of the many games to be found in the resources for children and young adults in our local Friends Meeting House, Monopoly is conspicuously absent. The goal of becoming the sole land owner by bankrupting the other players really isn’t in the cooperative spirit that Quakers like to cultivate.
But did you know that the game has a hidden history of social activism, controversy, and innovation? In this article, written with the assistance of Copilot, we will explore how Monopoly evolved from a tool to teach about economic inequality to a symbol of capitalist success, and how some people are trying to reclaim its original spirit by creating alternative versions of the game.
The Landlord’s Game: A Critique of Monopoly
The origins of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903, when a woman named Lizzie Magie created a game called The Landlord’s Game. Magie was a follower of Henry George, a 19th-century economist who advocated for a single tax on land to prevent the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few landlords. Magie designed the game to illustrate the negative effects of monopolies and to promote the idea of a more equitable society.
The Landlord’s Game had two sets of rules: one that followed the conventional system of property ownership and rent collection, and another that encouraged cooperation and shared prosperity. In the first set of rules, players competed to buy properties, charge rents, and drive their opponents to bankruptcy. In the second set of rules, players worked together to create a common fund that paid for public services and utilities, and shared the income from the properties. The game also included a “Prosperity” rule that ended the game when the total wealth of the players reached a certain level, and declared everyone a winner.
Magie patented her game in 1904 and self-published it in 1906. She also tried to sell it to several publishers, but they rejected it because they thought it was too political and complex. However, the game gained popularity among progressive groups, such as college students, Quakers, and socialists, who used it as a way to educate and organise people around the issues of economic justice and reform. The game also inspired several variations and adaptations, such as the Anti-Monopoly Game, the Suffragette Game, and the Georgist Game.
Monopoly: A Story of Plagiarism and Profit
The game that we know today as Monopoly was not invented by a single person, but by a series of people who modified and improved the original Landlord’s Game over the years. One of the most influential figures in this process was Charles Darrow, a salesman from Pennsylvania who learned the game from his friends in the 1930s. Darrow made some changes to the game, such as adding the names of Atlantic City streets, the railroad stations, and the utilities, and drawing a colourful board with illustrations. He also simplified the rules and eliminated the cooperative option, making the game more competitive and exciting.
Darrow began to sell his version of the game by hand, and soon attracted the attention of Parker Brothers, a major game company. Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game from Darrow in 1935, and launched a massive marketing campaign that made Monopoly a huge success. However, Parker Brothers also tried to erase the history of the game and its creator, by claiming that Darrow was the sole inventor of Monopoly and by suing anyone who tried to produce or sell similar games. Parker Brothers also ignored the fact that Darrow had copied the game from others, and that Magie still held a patent for The Landlord’s Game.
Magie, who was still alive and active, was outraged by the plagiarism and the distortion of her game. She tried to challenge Parker Brothers and to expose the truth, but she was largely ignored and silenced by the media and the public. She sold her patent to Parker Brothers for a meagre sum of $500, and died in 1948, without receiving any recognition or royalties for her invention. Meanwhile, Darrow became a millionaire and a celebrity, and Monopoly became a global phenomenon and a cultural icon.
Co-opoly: A Return to the Roots
In recent years, some people have tried to revive the original spirit and message of The Landlord’s Game, by creating alternative versions of Monopoly that challenge the dominant narrative of capitalism and competition. One of these versions is Co-opoly, a cooperative board game that was developed by a group of game designers and activists in 2018. Co-opoly is a “conversion kit” that transforms Monopoly into a game where players work together to protest land assemblages and halt the construction of luxury condos. Players bring activists to the city via public transport, and drive them to locations where they can build housing co-ops consisting of tiny homes. The game ends when the players have successfully created a sustainable and inclusive community.
Co-opoly is not only a game, but also a statement and a movement. It is a way to reclaim the history and the potential of Monopoly, and to use it as a tool for social change and education. It is also a way to celebrate and promote the values and practices of cooperation, solidarity, and democracy, and to challenge the myths and realities of capitalism, inequality, and exploitation. Co-opoly is a reminder that Monopoly is not just a game, but a reflection and a representation of our society, and that we have the power and the responsibility to shape it according to our vision and our needs.
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