Monopoly, it was never just for kids.

by : Jace Masula 2011

Since the early beginnings of our great country, the constant attempt by the powers that be to indoctrinate our youths have been in full swing. Long before the days of Call of Duty... there was Monopoly.

Have you ever really wondered, "Where did this game come from?, and what was it all about?" Please allow me to break it down for you, since it is really quite simple. For most of us, Monopoly is just a board game where acquiring property and dominating your opponents is the name of the game. The ultimate goal, to own everything and force your opponents into bankruptcy. Aside from the controversy of who actually invented this board game, (with court battles for the rights and trademark spanning into the mid 1980's) what is important here is the message it teaches.



The earliest 'patented' version of Monopoly was created in 1904 by Elizabeth Magie. The game was then called 'The Landlord's Game' and was based on the philosophy of Henry George (1839-1897) called Georgism. His philosophy was simple. 'Everyone owns what they create, but that everything found in nature, most importantly land, belongs equally to all of humanity.'. Now that doesn't sound so bad right? Like all great ideas, it was soon perverted and corrupted into an ideology that "a tax on land value is efficient, fair and equitable, and will accrue sufficient revenue so that other taxes, which are less fair and efficient, can be reduced or eliminated.". Ah, and thus the lie is revealed. By taxing land, other taxes can be reduced or eliminated. So, by adding a new tax, we can get rid of the old ones. What a great idea! Too bad we all know how that plays out.

Now that we have an understanding of the philosophy on which the game is based... lets dive into the good stuff.

Lets start at the beginning... the "GO" square. Most of us think this is just free money, but actually, the $200 injection of cash represents a salary or wage of the common worker, you. The original design of the game even states, "Labor upon mother earth produces wages". Passing over or on this square represents your labor on mother earth, and for that you will receive a wage of $200.

Opposite the GO square you will find the JAIL. Landing on the jail means nothing more than passing through. However, going to jail is an integral part of this game. There are a few cards of CHANCE and COMMUNITY CHEST that will land you in jail, but as we all have come to learn, jail can be a profitable place to be in the game of Monopoly. Aside from in-game benefits and advantages of going to jail, one must ask, "What does going to jail have to do with a game of property trading?". I don't think it would be that difficult for anyone in this day and age to answer that question. Simply put, corruption, lies and deception are part of the bigger picture when dealing with banks and property management. At some point in your career, it is accepted that you land in JAIL for your wrong doings. However, going to jail won't stop you from collecting your 'rents' and continuing to grow your Monopoly whilst relaxing in club fed. You will be hard pressed to enjoy a game of Monopoly without going to jail, and if you are lucky enough, you can GET OUT OF JAIL FREE, or maybe even ROLL right on out without being noticed.

The opposite corner from JAIL is what we all know as FREE PARKING. The original version of this game has it labeled as PUBLIC PARK, POOR HOUSE. So if you are not doing so well in the game of Monopoly, there is a place for you. A momentary safe place of refuge and escape from the taxation. You can be a homeless vagrant in the PUBLIC PARK or POOR HOUSE. There is a place for everyone in the game of Monopoly.

And last but not least, the GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL square. We all have come to know this square very well. Just after rounding that corner, an onslaught of highly priced property awaits you. The game we all know says "GO TO JAIL", but the original version says something about "NO TRESPASSING, LORD BLUE BLOOD, LONDON ENGLAND, GO TO JAIL". Apparently, the origins of this square have to do with landing on some very wealthy "Blue Blood's" land and a trespassing charge being brought against you. That is why you go to jail when landing on that square. A square that cannot be purchased even though it clearly is a piece of land. Who owns this land? Could it be that same "Blue Blood" elites who own ALL the land at the start of the game? Could it be... where the BANKERS live? Why should visiting the bankers home rally a quick trip to the stockade? Perhaps it is just a reminder that a peek behind the curtain has consequences.

The original version of the game has squares of ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. Taxes like BREAD, SHELTER, CLOTHING and COAL (electricity) in which you are forced to pay for the basic needs of life. Scattered about the original board are LUXURY TAXES where the CHANCE and COMMUNITY CHEST cards are now. Lets take an even closer look at some of these cards.


The get out of JAIL free card.
translation: This card represent the 'connections' one might have to pull a few strings and get you out of JAIL without having to pay any fee or fine. Now who sells their get out of jail free card? for the small price of $50, it would seem quite pointless to sell such a card? Now remember, it's all about the idea of trading the power of such a card, not the value of the card itself... As in real life.


You have been elected Chairman of the board of directors
translation: Pay off the bribes as you promised now that you have been elected. What does this teach us? That fixed elections, bribes and corruption are all part of success? Surely that doesn't sound like something I want to teach my children.


You are assessed street repairs
translation : the local government wants a cut of your profits... but you will give that money to the BANK. Who assessed these repairs? Apparently that is not important here. What is important is that you pay.


We're off the gold standard.
translation: holy f*cking shit, are you kidding me? You can see why this card didn't last too long. A little too much truth for a board game huh?. (this card is from 1937). So getting off the gold standard means I get more money? Wow!, de-value the dollar so that I will need more of them to buy the same good or service I used to get much cheaper. All the while, I will 'think' that by having more dollars, I have more wealth.


Pay Hospital 100$
translation: Obamacare anyone? Why am I paying the Hospital? When I get the "School tax" card, at least they tell me it is a tax. The "Pay doctors fee" card tells me it is a fee.

So what was the original intention of this game? Lizzie Magie's "The Landlord's Game" Had one main motivating objective. To show that 'rents' enriched property owners and impoverished tenants. As a Georgist, Land was owned by everyone, and any tax on the land should only be there to remove and reduce all the other taxes associated with living a free life. She knew that some people would find it hard to understand the logic behind the idea, and she thought that if the 'rent' problem and the Georgist solution to it were put into the concrete form of a game, it might be easier to demonstrate, and in turn, possibly change the dynamic altogether through subtle education. What a great concept... make a game that teaches the children how life is, in hopes they will 'get it' and make a change as adults. As with all great ideas with good intentions, it was corrupted for profit and turned into quite the opposite. One may even go as far to say, She was a pioneer in indoctrinating the youth with games in an effort to change the social dynamic. A sad, sad man told me once, "I know a good thing when I steal it.". That seems to apply here.

There is one underlying factor of this game that most people overlook completely... Hiding in the shadow of all that is Monopoly. That EVERYTHING is owned and 'allowed' for use, by the BANK. All property is purchased from the BANK, all houses and hotels , from the BANK. All the money in the game comes from, the BANK. For with every game played, one player gets to BE the BANKER. He / She will handle all the money transactions, collecting the taxes, counting the mortgage payments ... but be careful, all that Monopoly money in your grasp may tempt you to cheat, steal, and if caught, lie about it. Since that is EXACTLY what it's all about in the end.


History of distribution

At first, Charles Darrow presented Monopoly to Parker Brothers as entirely his own invention and for which he owned the patent. The company soon discovered the truth, but the game was proving such an instant commercial success that they opted to promote it as Darrow's creation, whilst at the same time taking steps to protect the product by buying out Lizzie Magie's 1904 patent. She accepted $500 in return for an assurance that Parker Brothers would market her Landlord's Game and Henry George's single tax theories could be "spread to the people of the country" (of course they did no such thing).

Monopoly as manufactured by Parker Brothers was soon the pastime rage of America, and international licensing rights were given to John Waddington Ltd in the United Kingdom. A London version of the game, with London place names, was launched in 1936. "The Angel Islington" shot to stardom in Britain and throughout the Commonwealth. Several decades later, enter Ralph Ansbach

In 1974 Ralph Ansbach, now a retired professor of Economics from San Francisco State University, launched a game he had invented called Anti-Monopoly (I). As the name suggests, the game is a sort of Monopoly in reverse. It begins with a monopoly of the board, and the players compete to return it back to a competitive, free enterprise system. This was followed by Anti-Monopoly II – more like Monopoly but with an Anti-Monopoly theme, and then The Original Monopoly Game – actually two games whose aim is to recreate the early folk versions.

Parker Brothers Inc. was by then owned by General Mills, a large corporation who ordered Anti-Monopoly to be taken off the market. Anspach's company refused, resulting in legal battles lasting a decade, during six of which a federal district judge banned the game from the market. Anti-Monopoly won two appeals and ultimately won their case at the United States Supreme Court.

The courts thus confirmed the existence of a board game called the Landlord's Game which had been popularly played at least 30 years before Parker Brothers published Monopoly in 1935. Anti-Monopoly was re-launched as a new game in 1984, still with an anti-monopolistic theme, but it has not proved particularly successful. Ralph Anspach subsequently wrote a book called The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle. In 1999 he noted "It turns out that the monopoly game was invented by anti-monopolists as a light-hearted roast of the greedy conduct of monopolists… a game in which the bad guys win."