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Monopoly the Game

The Smithsonian Mag has an informative article about the history of the game Monopoly [1]. The main point about Monopoly teaching about the problems of inequality is one I was already aware of, but there are some aspects of the history that I learned from the article.

Here’s an article about using modified version of Monopoly to teach Sociology [2].

Maria Paino and Jeffrey Chin wrote an interesting paper about using Monopoly with revised rules to teach Sociology [3]. They publish the rules which are interesting and seem good for a class.

I think it would be good to have some new games which can teach about class differences. Maybe have an “Escape From Poverty” game where you have choices that include drug dealing to try and improve your situation or a cooperative game where people try to create a small business. While Monopoly can be instructive it’s based on the economic circumstances of the past. The vast majority of rich people aren’t rich from land ownership.

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