Did you know the game of Monopoly was invented for political reasons in order to teach the dangers of capitalism in real estate? I dive into the roots of the game, the transition, and how it ended up in the form it is today. No matter the original intent, it’s still fun to have a board game that gives us a chance to slip into a cut-throat mindset, bankrupt our loved ones, and dominate the real estate landscape.

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M4: THE GAME OF MONOPOLY

WITH ALL OF THE DIVISIVENESS THAT COMES WITH A PENDING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THINGS THAT CONNECT US EVEN WHEN WE HAVE DISAGREEMENTS.  WHAT JUMPS TO MIND IS SPENDING TIME WITH PEOPLE WE CARE ABOUT, LAMENTING OVER TWISTS AND TURNS IN A VERY LOVING, VERY ADVERSARIAL… GAME OF MONOPOLY.

I LOVE THE GAME BECAUSE IT HAS BROUGHT SO MUCH HAPPINESS TO MY FAMILY, ESPECIALLY ON RAINY WEEKEND DAYS…OR MONTHS ON LOCKDOWN DURING A PANDEMIC…BUT BEFORE I GUSH OVER HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE IT, IT’S WORTH EXPLORING HOW THE GAME CAME TO BE – BECAUSE THIS IS A STORY THAT IS UNIQUELY...AMERICAN….

EPISODE

THE GAME OF MONOPOLY DIDN’T JUST APPEAR – IT’S ACTUALLY A JOINT EFFORT. IN FACT, THE IDEA BEHIND THE GAME HAD BEEN AROUND FOR NEARLY THIRTY YEARS BEFORE IT EVEN BEGAME THE GAME OF MONOPOLY.  

IT WAS BACK IN 1903 WHEN A WOMAN NAMED ELIZABETH, OR “LIZZIE” MAGIE, A POLITICAL ACTIVIST, WRITER, FEMINIST, AND DAUGHTER OF AN ABOLITIONIST WHO WORKED WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN, WHO FIRST PATENTED THE IDEA UNDER THE NAME “THE LANDLORD’S GAME.”

LIZZIE BELIEVED STRONGLY IN THE ECONOMIC IDEOLOGY OF GEORGISM, NAMED FOR THE ECONOMIST AND SOCIAL REFORMER, HENRY GEORGE. GEORGISTS BELIEVED THAT INDIVIDUAL OR CORPORATE OWNERSHIP OF LAND WOULD CREATE NATURAL MONOPOLIES AND ALLOW THE RICH TO GET RICHER, AND FORCE THE POOR TO REMAIN POOR.

SO THEY BELIEVED LAND, BEING A NATURAL RESOURCE, SHOULD NOT BE OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS OR COMPANIES, AND INSTEAD, IT SHOULD BELONG EQUALLY TO ALL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

LIZZIE MAGIE WAS OUTSPOKEN IN HER BELIEFS, AND ALSO IN HER KEEPING THAT WOMEN WERE EVERY BIT AS CAPABLE AS MEN IN BUSINESS. SHE NOTICED THAT AS SHE TRAVELED AND SPOKE ON GEORGISM AND THE DANGERS OF MONOPOLIES ON LAND, THE CONCEPT WAS DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO GRASP. SO AS A WAY OF BETTER COMMUNICATING, AND AS A WAY OF PRACTICING WHAT SHE PREACHED ABOUT WOMEN AND EQUALITY IN BUSINESS, SHE STARTED HER OWN BUSINESS AS A GAME DESIGNER AND DEVELOPED A BOARD GAME SHE CALLED “THE LANDLORD’S GAME”

IT WAS COMPRISED OF A SQUARE BOARD, WITH PROPERTIES AROUND THE OUTSIDE. THERE WAS GO TO JAIL IN ONE CORNER, SENDING PLAYERS TO A JAIL IN THE OPPOSITE CORNER. THERE WERE CHANCE SPACES, REQUIRING PLAYERS TO DRAW CHANCE CARDS, PUBLIC WORKS PROPERTIES, AND EVEN A SPACE CALLED LUXURY, REQUIRING PLAYERS TO PAY A TAX.

THE CONCEPT WAS TO GIVE PLAYERS A CHANCE TO PLAY THE GAME IN TWO DIFFERENT SETTINGS, OR RULES: THE FIRST WAS A MONOPOLIST SETUP (WHICH SHE CALLED MONOPOLY) AND THE SECOND WAY TO PLAY WAS IN AN ANTI-MONOPOLIST SETUP (WHICH SHE CALLED PROSPERITY). THE GOAL WAS TO LET PEOPLE PLAY BOTH WAYS, AND SHOW HOW LAND-VALUE TAX RULES IN THE PROSPERITY SETUP WOULD REMEDY THE PROBLEMS THAT THE MONOPOLY SETUP CREATED. 

IN 1904 SHE RECEIVED A PATENT, SELF-PUBLISHED THE GAME, AND FOR THE NEXT THIRTY YEARS, FOUND SOME SUCCESS, ESPECIALLY AMONG IVY LEAGUE PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS, AND THE LEFT-LEANING MIDDLE CLASS.

ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ENJOYED THE GAME, WAS A MAN FROM PHILADELPHIA NAMED CHARLES DARROW, WHO WAS INTRODUCED TO THE LANDLORD’S GAME IN 1932. DARROW NOTICED THAT IT WAS AN EDUCATIONAL GAME, MEANT TO SUPPORT A POLITICAL INITIATIVE WHICH MOST LIKELY HINDERED SUPPORT FROM LARGER PRODUCTION HOUSES LIKE PARKER BROTHERS, SO HE SAW AN OPPORTUNITY.

IN A TWIST OF CAPITALISTIC IRONY, DARROW TOOK A GAME INTENDED TO LIMIT CAPITALISM, AND HE IMPROVED UPON IT, MAKING IT MORE APPEALING TO A WIDER AUDIENCE AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNER. HE TOOK THE MONOPOLY VERSION FROM THE LANDLORD’S GAME AND MADE IT THE ONLY WAY TO PLAY. HE MADE IT CLEANER AND EASIER TO READ, CHANGED MANY OF THE PROPERTY NAMES TO ALIGN WITH ATLANTIC CITY STREETS, AND HAD A GRAPHIC DESIGNER DRAW IMAGES FOR THE CARDS AND PROPERTIES TO MAKE IT MORE VISUALLY PLEASING. THESE CHANGES EARNED A NEW PATENT, AND THIS NEW APPROACH APPEALED TO PARKER BROTHERS, WHO BOUGHT THE COPYWRIGHT IN 1932. THE GAME WENT INTO MASS PRODUCTION AND TOOK OFF FROM THERE, BECOMING THE GAMING ICON WE KNOW TODAY.

WHILE LIZZIE MAGIE DIED IN 1948 WITHOUT SEEING ANY OF THE PROCEEDS, SHE WAS POSTHUMOUSLY CREDITED WITH THE INVENTION OF ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR GAMES EVER MADE.

THINGS LIKE THIS ARE TOUGH. LIZZIE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN COMPENSATED, BUT IT’S HARD TO SAY WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO LIZZIE MAGIE’S GAME IF DARROW HADN’T…SHOULD WE SAY… CAPITALIZED ON THE CONCEPT. I MEAN, WOULD WE EVEN HAVE ROCK AND ROLL WITHOUT THE DELTA BLUES MUSICAN, ROBERT JOHNSON? THIS COMBINED EFFORT IS A CASE IN AMERICA BEING THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.

AS SOMEONE WHO HAS SHARED MANY MEMORIES WITH LOVED ONES PLAYING THE GAME, WHAT I KNOW IS THAT I’M THANKFUL FOR WHAT BOTH LIZZIE MAGIE AND CHARLES DARROW CREATED. AND NO MATTER WHERE YOU STAND ON THE WAY IT ALL WENT DOWN; I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THIS COMBINED EFFORT HAS ALLOWED US TO BE TOGETHER ON A RAINY AFTERNOON, HAPPILY FIGHTING…TO SEE WHO CAN OWN IT ALL.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Magie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Landlord%27s_Game

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_(game)