The Real Story Behind Monopoly
Behind the Design is a series of sleek and concise videos about the design of everyday objects we take for granted. This episode uncovers the anti-capitalist ...
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The design of this board game started in 1904 with a woman named Elizabeth Magie. She was a fan of a book called "Progress and Poverty" by economist Henry George. In it he argued that renting out land only profited a few individuals at the expense of the community. To teach people about George’s theories, Lizzie Magie created a game with 2 sets of rules. In one, players all shared money when someone purchased a piece of land. And in the other, everyone tried to get as rich as possible while bankrupting others. This way she hoped people would see how unfair land-grabbing was. The Landlord's Game as it was known, became popular, particularly among Quakers. With each person drawing the board by hand on to tablecloths or fabric and modifying the rules. One of those people wa...
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The design of this board game started in 1904 with a woman named Elizabeth Magie. She was a fan of a book called "Progress and Poverty" by economist Henry George. In it he argued that renting out land only profited a few individuals at the expense of the community. To teach people about George’s theories, Lizzie Magie created a game with 2 sets of rules. In one, players all shared money when someone purchased a piece of land. And in the other, everyone tried to get as rich as possible while bankrupting others. This way she hoped people would see how unfair land-grabbing was. The Landlord's Game as it was known, became popular, particularly among Quakers. With each person drawing the board by hand on to tablecloths or fabric and modifying the rules. One of those people wa...
