Stock Exchange Monopoly

The “Capitalism Is Crisis” banner might have come down, but there is a new centerpiece of (self-) expression at the St. Paul’s camp: A giant monopoly board that plays on discussions of greed and bailouts. The piece was donated to the camp by an unnamed artist ahead of the Monopoly Bike Ride on October 27. Since then, several pieces of art have been added to the original installation, including a mock get-out-of-jail card with the tags of the street artists Banksy and Zeus. The Occupied Times spoke with several people who indicated that the art had indeed been donated by Banksy.

“Monopoly” began its history as an educational game titled “Landlord’s Game” in the early 20^th century. The original creator, a woman named Elizabeth Margie, wanted to use the game to explain the benefits of a single tax on land that would have made it less costly to run individual businesses and more costly to amass large amounts of land in private hands.

During the Great Depression, the idea caught the eye of American economics students. They adjusted the rules to allow players to link properties and construct buildings. The emphasis of the game shifted: Instead of discouraging the monopolization of land, the successful gameplay now depended on the ability of players to monopolize color groups. The game was re-named “Monopoly” and first sold during the 1934 holiday season.

Only in the 1970s did someone try to return the game to its original idea. Economics professor Ralph Anspach won an out-of-court settlement in 1974 that allowed him to sell his own game under the name “Anti-Monopoly” – which is just what you would expect: A “game which is against monopolists”, according to Anspach.

True to its message, the St. Paul’s board has already begun to evolve from installation to message board. Political graffiti covers most of the art while the adjacent Tent City University hosts regular discussions and lectures about economics, politics, and justice.

By Martin MacKinnon