Why The Monopoly Game Is Bad For Your Wealth
April 23, 2008 – 9:32 amThe fundamental belief behind Monopoly is lack of money. Since the money supply cannot increase, the players can win only by taking money from other players. The only way to get more money is to take it away from others. This means that Monopoly is a zero sum game based on competition.
During the Great Depression, a few people made vast fortunes while thousands of other people stood in breadlines. In the zero sum game of Monopoly, for one to player to win, the others must lose.
In the game of Monopoly, partnership is prohibited. Players cannot create joint ventures. Players cannot loan money to other players. Players cannot borrow money from other players.
The psychological effect of playing this highly competitive game is that you are a solo player doing whatever you can to force the other players to go bankrupt. The last thing you want to do is to help someone else stay in the game because that person might go on to drive you out of the game.
This game teaches that fierce competition is the only way to create wealth. This is the way the world is. You will succeed only at the expense of others.
This idea is deeply embedded in our consciousness about what it takes to make money and what it takes to succeed in business. Monopoly simply reinforces the fundamental belief that the road to success is paved with the bodies of your competitors.
As a success model, what is the effect of a game based on competition for a limited money supply? You don’t have to look any further than the statistic that 96% of the population will reach 65 without enough money to be financially self-sufficient. Instead of congratulating the 4% who somehow manage to create financial freedom for themselves in this economic system, you need to ask, “What is wrong with the game? Why do so many lose?”
The short answer is that our economic models teach competition for limited resources as the foundation of wealth. The model itself demands that almost everyone must end the game broke.
What happens when you attempt to create wealth in business according to Monopoly Money Rules? It’s a highly competitive game and a lonely struggle. You use your own money and do it alone. Will you succeed? Maybe. You might be one of the lucky few who manage to do it all yourself. More likely, you will end up as one of the casualties of those who tried to start a business but never made enough money to succeed.
As a model for creating wealth, Monopoly is stuck in the mindset and money beliefs of the Great Depression. In the Monopoly game, the winner amasses money but does nothing to create money through transactions.
The Great Depression ended more than sixty years ago. It’s time for a new game with a new understanding of money. The fact is, you’ll make more money in transactions than you will in takeovers. Mr. Monopoly had it wrong when he thought that winning meant driving competitors out of business. Yes, I know. The business world is still full of “black knights” and hostile takeovers. And sometimes the worst people seem to win.
When you take off the Depression era Mr. Monopoly glasses, you can see a new vision of money and business. Money is not currency. Money is an idea, and the only limits to money are the limits of your vision. With this vision, you’ll see that you will make more money in transactions than takeovers. In this era, the most enlightened business people understand that you will make more money in joint ventures with others than you will by competing against them.
Tags: Board Games
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