In New Anti-Capitalism Documentary, PBS Gets Monopoly All Wrong

Sometimes a movie or a book can tell a story to illustrate a bigger point. A new PBS documentary on Monopoly was made to make a completely different argument.

The film told the story of the iconic game and helped viewers to understand the fascinating history behind it. The film tried to use the Documentary To form a wider critique of capitalism “Ruthless: Monopoly’s Secret History” Only drew attention on the vast differences in an economic system and a mainstay toy store for almost a century.

Anti-Capitalist Roots

While Monopoly might seem unbelievable to many Americans, its roots are in an anti-capitalist political movement. Elizabeth Magie, an inventor, attempted to rally support for the simple taxes, which Henry George proposed as a way of making property communal at the turn of 20th century.

Magie created The Landlord’s Game which, at first glance, is very similar to Monopoly. Magie’s original 1904 patent The game featured not only a collection of rental properties arranged around a square board but also features such as railroads, light and water franchises, public parks, and more “jail” And “go to jail” spaces on the corners of the board — all features of the later game.

Magie however, created two sets rules for her game: A “monopolist” Version, in which people competed for the most property. “anti-monopolist” Version that rewards everyone who creates wealth. Guess which version of these rules kept people interested in the game.

Game Spreads — and Gets Stolen

The following three decades saw the development of the game spread via universities and other social club. As the game evolved, groups modified or added details like the names of the rental property (which didn’t have any names in 1904 Magie) and changed the rules. This is similar to how some families modify Monopoly. These modifications eventually led to games that were named like “Inflation” And “Finance.”

A version of the game circulated in Atlantic City eventually made its way to Charles Darrow, Philadelphia. It was a good and a bad thing. Darrow invested the little money that he had to scale up production and distribute the game himself, which was a plus. The game was so well-received in Philadelphia stores during Christmas 1934, that Parker Brothers took a second look and decided to purchase it. They then promoted it until it became a worldwide phenomenon. Darrow made Monopoly a global phenomenon by introducing a previously obscure game to the public.

Darrow, on the other hand stole Monopoly’s origins from Magie and other contributors. Parker Brothers was told a lie by Darrow about how he created the game in his spare hours. He did not speak to the neighbors who introduced him to the game.