"Monopoly" created to show evils of capitalism

"How I Built This" (Planet Money, 1/25/23); Ananda; Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

"Monopoly" is a board game built around capitalism, so is its origin story

He used to have a monocle (Mandela Effect)

"Monopoly" is one of the best-selling board games in history. It's been an iconic part of American life: a cheap pastime during the Great Depression, a reminder of home for soldiers during WW II, an American export during its rise as a global superpower, and a best-seller during the pandemic.

The game's staying power may in part be because of a strong American myth — the idea that anyone, with just a little cash, can rise from rags to riches.

Author Mary Pilon: The Monopolists

Mary Pilon, author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game, dug into the origin story that was once included with every box of the game:

• A man named Charles Darrow was unemployed and came up with the game to pass the time.

He took Monopoly to the game company Parker Brothers in 1934 and eventually became a millionaire.

But there's another origin story – a very different one that promotes a very different and negative image of financial exploitation capitalism (with two sets of starkly different rules on how to play it).

That story shows how a critique of capitalism (and private property) grew from a seed of an idea in a rebellious young woman's mind into a game legendary for its celebration of wealth at all costs.

Hold onto assets rather than working for salary

• This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee, mastered by Natasha Branch, and edited by Jess Jiang. It was made in collaboration with NPR's Throughline. For more about the origin story of Monopoly, listen to their original episode "Do Not Pass Go."
• The original Throughline episode was produced by Rund Abdelfatah, Ramtin Arablouei, Lawrence Wu, Laine Kaplan-Levenson, Julie Caine, Victor Yvellez, Anya Steinberg, Yolanda Sangweni, Casey Miner, Cristina Kim, Devin Katayama, and Amiri Tulloch. It was fact-checked by Kevin Volkl. Music by Drop Electric.

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