Monopoly Meme as a Metaphor for Capitalism?
The economic system that has made America the wealthiest nation ever to exist, and its citizens the most comfortable, cozy, cared for, and coddled of all peoples, is falling into disfavor, in part due to well-intentioned concerns for the poor. One of the arguments against capitalism is that it makes a few people very rich while keeping wealth out of the pockets of everyone else. The result, so the argument goes, is that a tiny percentage of people get all the wealth while everyone else necessarily experiences loss and poverty.
One popular social media meme represents this argument against capitalism. It's a picture of a Monopoly board and it asks the reader to envision the following scenario: "You're playing Monopoly. One player is given all the property except Baltic Avenue. They're also given 95% of the bank. You're expected to succeed with what's left. Of course, you lose immediately. Why? It must be because you're lazy."
In this allegory, the player who is given most of the money and properties at the outset represents those who come from wealthy families. There is a limited amount of wealth, and since most of it goes to them, there is nothing left for the others. Sounds pretty hopeless and unfair, right?
Is this representative of a capitalist system? The majority of those who have shared and commented on this meme sure think so. However, there are critical differences between this board game scenario and real life.
One major difference is that real-life capitalism is not a zero-sum game. In other words, one person's gain is not another person's loss. There is not a finite amount of wealth in a capitalist economy as there is in the board game. In a capitalist economy, entrepreneurs create new ideas, new technologies, new organizations, and new wealth, and the result is that many people benefit. It's true that the entrepreneur, who personally takes on all of the risk, ends up with a lot more money when his idea succeeds, but he is not the only one who benefits. In many cases, we all do.
In fact, it is because of American capitalism that the percentage of people living at starvation-level poverty has decreased by more than 80% since 1970. Before then, more than one in four people around the world were living on a dollar a day or less; today, it's about one in twenty.1 No bureaucratic initiative or government policies even come close to this unparalleled achievement that has benefited literally billions of people.
So how is this possible? Consider, for example, the private vacation ownership company, Bluegreen. Founder Harry Patten started out as a salesman for American Central, a developer of vacation home sites. Over time he saved his earnings, began developing his own properties, branched off, and created what is now Bluegreen Corporation. Along the way he endured ups and downs, including $45 million in losses in 1989 and 1990 alone, but Patten persevered, worked hard, took risks, and sought out needed expertise. Today, the Bluegreen Corporation maintains 60 beautiful properties and boasts a net worth of $1.08 billion.2 But that's not all it does. Bluegreen also provides very attractive employment opportunities for 4,500 people of diverse skills and backgrounds and gives generous financial support to philanthropic organizations that significantly improve the lives of the poor.3
So where did all this wealth come from? Did Harry Patten take $1.08 billion from others, leaving them broke and hopeless? No! He created wealth by purchasing something of very little value (in this case, acres of overgrown brush) and transforming it into something of great value. Of course Harry Patten profited greatly from its success, but many others benefited as well. Bluegreen provides well-paid jobs and benefits for 4500 families, many of whom began with few or no skills. The cities that host Bluegreen properties have been able to attract new businesses to those areas, providing even more job opportunities where previously there were none. And organizations like the Red Cross, supported by Bluegreen, are able to help more people who find themselves in desperate situations due to health crises, natural disasters, and war.
The same concept applies to entrepreneurs of all types, who come up with new ideas to create wealth that previously didn't exist. However, entrepreneurs provide more than just the ideas. They also provide the organizational management, and they take on all the risk of a potential failure. These responsibilities demand special skills, a wholehearted investment of themselves, and tremendous sacrifices of time, energy, and peace of mind. Without the entrepreneurs who take on these heavy burdens and the capitalist system that rewards those who do, many people would lose out.
While capitalism provides incentives for those who desire to undertake such monumental tasks, it also provides alternative paths to success and happiness for those who define it differently. For the engineer like my husband and the accountant like my mom, who both prefer to forego the greater monetary rewards in exchange for advantages like more time with loved ones, freedom to serve the poor overseas, and flexibility to be involved in other priorities, capitalism allows them to live comfortable, healthy, pleasant lives as well. Because of entrepreneurs who are willing to take on the challenges that others are not, my family members are able to work good jobs that provide for their needs without taking on the full burden of starting and running their own business.
No, a Monopoly game in which there is a finite amount of wealth, and the success of one player is a direct loss for the others, is nothing like true capitalism. In order to approximate actual capitalism, Monopoly would need to allow for the endless creation of new wealth; account for both the reward and the risk involved in creating new wealth; benefit other players whenever one player successfully creates or develops something new; provide for endless gradations of success based on personal preferences and choices; and eliminate the requirement that all but one player loses the game.
Once we understand this, then we will be on the path toward grasping the true benefits of American capitalism, which is responsible for the unprecedented wealth of the United States itself, as well as the greatest anti-poverty achievement in all of world history.4
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[1] PragerU, "If You Hate Poverty, You Should Love Capitalism" https://www.prageru.com/video/if-you-hate-poverty-you-should-love-capitalism/; see also PragerU "Myths, Lies, and Capitalism" https://www.prageru.com/video/myths-lies-and-capitalism/
[2] Bluegreen (BXG) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluegreen_Corporation
[4] PragerU, "If You Hate Poverty You Should Love Capitalism" https://www.prageru.com/video/if-you-hate-poverty-you-should-love-capitalism/; see also PragerU, "Why is America so Rich?" https://www.prageru.com/video/why-is-america-so-rich/ ; see also PragerU "Myths, Lies, and Capitalism" https://www.prageru.com/video/myths-lies-and-capitalism/
