11 - Capitalism & Monopoly: Why The Best Board Games Make The Worst Reality

Looking for a game to play over the holidays? Why not try the real world global economy? Too late, you’re already playing it! 

Have you ever noticed how the most popular board games just so happen to reflect core components of our civilization? Settlers of Catan involves the extraction of raw materials. Risk is the imperialism and war between nations. Monopoly demonstrates the pitfalls of capitalism.

Now in the real world, I rarely celebrate resource extraction, imperialism, or capitalism. But the board game versions are so much fun. Maybe that’s why we’re all playing it at a global level. As horrible as the side effects of these things are, enough people are having so much fun playing. 

And not just those winning. Sure, winning is awesome. But don’t count out how much fun it is to be down just enough to think if you keep trying you can get back in it. Your competitiveness takes over and you can’t put the game down. 

And then for even more people, they have no choice in the matter, they have to play, even though there’s no hope for winning, they’re just trying to survive and stay in the game. 

At this point, most of the world has been roped into this game of conquering, exploitation, and finance. We’re so convinced this is just normal life, most people don’t even think they’re playing a game. But unlike most board games, it doesn't come with an instruction manual. That is… until now. 

In this episode, we use sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein’s seminal text, World-Systems Analysis, as our instruction manual to the game of colonization and exploitation. We explore how dominant countries rise and fall, the dance between capitalism and the state, and the unexpected truth about what real power looks like. 

Join us for a deep dive into empires, markets, mafias, and everyone’s favorite Monopoly piece: the thimble. Macro-economics has never been this entertaining and fun for the whole family.

 

If you’d like to support Human Nature Odyssey, please subscribe wherever you enjoy your podcasts, leave us a review, and visit humannatureodyssey.com.

Join us on Patreon and get exclusive access to audio extras, writings, and notes.

 

CREDITS

Additional Writer ... Weslie Lechner

Voice Acting ... Patrick Boylan and Weslie Lechner

 

CITATIONS

World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction [book] by Immanuel Wallerstein (2004)

The Emergence of France [article] by Gabriel Fournier and John Frederick Drinkwater (2024)

The secret history of Monopoly: the capitalist board game's leftwing origins [article] by Mary Pilon (2015)

 

Music: Celestial Soda Pop

By: Ray Lynch

From the album: Deep Breakfast

Courtesy Ray Lynch Productions © Ⓟ 1984/BMI 

All rights reserved.

 

1.  Amazon: Celestial Soda Pop 

https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B000QQXURI    

2.  iTunes: 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/celestial-soda-pop/3242445?i=3242425

3.  Spotify:  

https://open.spotify.com/track/2THDVIVytLuGX7S7UghuC1?si=20ea63807bba401f