Monopoly Justice
Day two hundred fifty-four/365. I'm not into board games. But, when I was a kid, I used to play Monopoly with my cousins when we were all on vacation.
Back then, I couldn't appreciate the message conveyed by the layout of a Monopoly board. Now, it jumps right out!
The neighborhoods are divided by affluence. You can put up a house in the slums, or on some pretty exclusive property. As you hop around the board, you may have to pay income tax -- only if you're in one of the poorest neighborhoods. Folks in the more privileged section pay no income tax. There is a luxury tax among the wealthy, but it's nominal compared to the income tax paid by the poor.
On one corner is a police officer. If he catches you, you go to jail -- back in a poor neighborhood! The cop is there to protect a wealthy neighborhood against dogs, shoes, cannons, or other pieces moving through.
Was Monopoly invented by a very cynical person? Or, was it designed to convey a subtle message about economic justice?
Comments and faves
Sue Combs, Edison e as imagens, Galactic Dreams, frizshizzle, and 19 other people added this photo to their favorites.
AmyLouPics (62 months ago | reply)
i love the colors in this photo...great job John...Did you know that Parker Brothers factory was in Salem MA...the town next to me?
mtsofan (62 months ago | reply)
Yamanize (62 months ago | reply)
Love this shot for some reason. Now a fact from me, Parkers Brothers stole the idea for this game from a woman that created the land lords game, but they did buy it from her. XD You learn something every day.
mtsofan (62 months ago | reply)
Yamanize (62 months ago | reply)
Hmm, well it was created around the great depression. Since no one really had any money people enjoyed feeling rich, even if it was just a game. XD I read an article a long time ago, but I still remember it.
tlp photography (62 months ago | reply)
Well.....hmmmm! Never really looked at that game like that before!
Thankyou for a different view!
*Curt* (62 months ago | reply)
Hmm! Did you win? Nice shot!
im pastor rick (62 months ago | reply)
Great photo, and great commentary. I never looked at Monopoly like that before either.
pink coffee photoart - lyndsay [deleted] (62 months ago | reply)
I never even thought about all that, but it's so true!
We always played this while staying at the beach on vacation-good memories. :)
cookiemom18 (62 months ago | reply)
Great way to look at it.
jennhx (62 months ago | reply)
Yes, great shot. I never thought this out consciously, but the cynicism is one reason I never liked playing this game.
Weird_Aunt_Martha (62 months ago | reply)
Very interesting. Here I thought I was observant. Well, with my eyes I am, maybe not so much with my mind.
--
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
russell.bride (61 months ago | reply)
I never realised that. Thankyou!
mtsofan (61 months ago | reply)
russell.bride (61 months ago | reply)
Yes, you can get several localised versions of it, although I grew up in Australia and it's played there too.
AAA<ALTHANI [deleted] (60 months ago | reply)
lol i want 2 play
Caitlyn Nehr (57 months ago | reply)
thats awesome !
mtsofan (57 months ago | reply)
CLIConline (48 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called CLIC money, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Michael Ashby (45 months ago | reply)
Thank you for releasing this photo under creative commons. As a CC site ourselves, we've included it in the following blog entry:
pegchannels.org/2009/cable-deregulation-in-mi chigan/
Great photo and again, thank you for sharing.
mtsofan (45 months ago | reply)
protrombina (44 months ago | reply)
Don't you just loooooove this game??? I do!
Geeksquadof1 2.0 (43 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a starting group called Classic Games, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
elainelariviere (43 months ago | reply)
Great commentary on an American classic!
I'll have to remember that the next time 'I go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200"
australianpolicyonline (41 months ago | reply)
Hi John, Thanks again from Australian Policy Online. I'm using another pic of yours this week (found randomly) for our feature image for APO's Economics section for a week or so from 17 January 2010. See www.apo.org.au/economics (illustrating a report called ‘Permanent income inequality: Australia, Britain, Germany, and the United States compared'). Thanks again for listing your image with a Creative Commons license.
mtsofan (41 months ago | reply)
PugnoM (40 months ago | reply)
Thanks for making this CC-licensed. I'm using it as an illustration on a presentation slide while I talk about monopolies. There are not a whole lot of illustrations of the _concept_ that work to illustrate, but this is such a good photo of the game that it'll work fine.
davender (34 months ago | reply)
Love the colors, framing and depth of field. Thanks for making this CC-licensed. I've used it to illustrate a blog post here with attribution at the bottom of the post.: blog.davender.com/2010/08/the-market-is-not-b usiness-busi...
mtsofan (34 months ago | reply)
Finecrafted by Nori (34 months ago | reply)
Never considered that viewpoint before... and it doesn't seem so fun now somehow.
Great shot. Nice composition and color.