Monopoly Was Originally a Teaching Tool Exposing Economic Inequality
These days, Monopoly is a childhood staple, as kids worldwide learn to buy properties and then push friends into bankruptcy by charging exorbitant rent in order to emerge victorious. It’s the ultimate capitalist board game, representing a culture of property ownership and profit-seeking at the expense of others.
It may surprise many to learn that this was definitely not the intention behind its invention. The roots of Monopoly can actually be found in the work of Henry George, an economist active in the 1800s, whose best-selling book Progress and Poverty proposed the creation of a single tax on land value, rather than income generated by work. In his eyes, land was a common resource to be taxed in order to generate public revenue and shift the tax burden from workers onto wealthy landlords.
This is a far cry from the rags-to-riches Monopoly story retold for decades. In this version, an unemployed man called Charles Darrow invented the game during the Great Depression of the 1930s, before selling it to the Parker Brothers in 1935. When it became a smash hit, he and the game makers became millionaires.
But this story is pure fiction. Originally called The Landlord’s Game, the game was actually the brainchild of Elizabeth Magie Phillips, a progressive woman described as a left-wing feminist, activist, writer and inventor. After years perfecting the game, Magie patented it in 1904, incorporating several recognizable features, including the iconic “go to jail” corner. Created as a teaching tool for her left-wing ideology, there is one particular aspect which did not survive.
On the left: The original Landlords Game published in 1906. (Public domain) On the right: Photograph of Elizabeth Magie Phillips, the feminist anti-monopolist who invented the game which is now known as Monopoly. (Public domain)
The original game incorporated two sets of rules; the monopolist and the anti-monopolist. The objective was to play with the monopolist rules first, before switching over to anti-monopolist rules which incorporated the ideas of Henry George. The aim was to illustrate the benefits of a single tax on land wealth in order to redistribute wealth amongst players.
After self-publishing her game in 1906, The Landlord’s Game became a cult hit. For despite low sales, it was particularly popular amongst left-wing intellectuals—who made handmade copies adding in their own street names and features.
When Charles Darrow came across the game at a friend’s house in 1932, he was so blown away that he swiftly stole the concept, tweaked the design and eventually sold the rights to the Parker Brothers who began selling it as Monopoly (without the second set of rules) in 1935. When the Parker Brothers found out about Magie’s patent, they slyly bought the rights up for a meagre $500, without disclosing their motivations or the game’s huge profit margin.
Top image: Detail from a Monopoly board. Source: Rich Brooks / CC BY 2.0
