The Great
Lie of traditional Monopoly is that everybody has an equal
chance
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Monopoly
and Monopoly in a Stratified Society
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Instructions,
Assignment Ideas, and Worksheets for Teaching about Social Inequality
Using the Monopoly Gameboard
Mona
J.E. Danner, Old Dominion University
webpage
and links by Paul
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The vignette which discusses the
game can be found in two books by Leonard Beeghley: The
Structure of Social Stratification in the United States, 2nd Edition,
1996, (p.57), Boston: Allyn and Bacon; and Living
Poorly in America 1983, (p.141-2), New York: Praeger.
Mona received the “Rules For Monopoly in a Stratified Society” from a
friend of Dr. Randy Gainey's (Old Dominion University) who referenced the
following cite although she has not been able to find the paper: Goudy,
Phyllis-Marie, John Hawthorne, and Jeanne Nelson. 1983.
"Teaching Social Stratification with Monopoly." Presented at
the North Central Sociological Association meetings. The instructions,
questions, assignment, and worksheets are Mona's own design.
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Printable
adobe/.pdf version of Instructions, Assignment Ideas, and Worksheets
for Teaching about Social Inequality Using the Monopoly Gameboard [no web links to other resources]
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No more than 8 players at
each Monopoly game board.
Play Traditional Monopoly for
a set period of time, no more than 1 hour. Call the end of the game, stopping
play immediately. For each game board (a single group of players), complete
the Monopoly Worksheet that assesses
each player’s Gross Worth, minus their beginning $1500, to equal their Net
Worth. Each member at each board should complete a worksheet for their board;
each student should keep one copy for themselves and each group should turn in
one copy to the instructor. You may also find it useful to have students write
about what they experienced, thought, and felt during the game; question
sheets follow.
Then, play Stratified
Monopoly for the exact same period of time as Traditional Monopoly. The
very same players should play on the same board for both games. The
handout “Rules For Monopoly in a Stratified Society” identifies how many
players in each class depending on the number of players at the board; before
giving the handout, put the table on the chalkboard and allow people at each
board to determine who will be in each class. Pass the “Rules” out
to each player. Pay close attention to interactions, including how
decisions are made about who occupies which class position, how class members
appear to be acting and feeling. Call the end of the game, stopping play
immediately. For each game board (a single group of players), complete
the Stratified Monopoly Worksheet that assesses each player’s Gross
Worth, minus their Inheritance (notice the use of a different term than
“beginning $1500"), to equal their Net Worth. As before, each
member at each board should complete and keep a worksheet for their board, and
each board should turn in one completed sheet to the instructor. You may
also find it useful to have students write about what they experienced,
thought, and felt during the game; question sheets are attached.
Discuss what happened, how
people felt, what they noticed about themselves and others. Pay attention to
how these actions and feelings are related to social class position. Various
things have happened in the past. Among the Lower Class:“ suicide,”
depression and alienation, bankruptcy, lifetime incarceration in jail. Among
the Upper Class: noblesse oblige (“the obligation of honorable, generous,
and responsible behavior associated with high rank or birth”), ruthlessness
and greed, laziness and protecting one’s position, manipulation of the
rules, bank embezzlement. In addition, you may see class alliances form
(especially between the Working and Middle Classes), class conflict, and class
warfare. Ask people what happened and why, and why feelings were different
among people and classes. Invite them to relate this experience to real life
and to the readings.
According to the rules
printed in Monopoly: “The object of the game is to become the wealthiest
player through buying, renting and selling property.”
Assessing Social Mobility and
Status Attainment: How does Monopoly -- traditional and stratified --
illustrate status attainment and social mobility?
Following this page are
worksheets for both Monopoly and Monopoly in a Stratified Society, Rules for
Monopoly in a Stratified Society, class questions, and instructions for a
Reaction Paper or Take-home Essay.
All students must complete
one worksheet for their board; you will need it for your paper. Each
board must turn in one completed worksheet to the instructor.
Gross Worth = Cash on hand +
Value of properties. According to Monopoly, properties are valued as
follows: (1) All lots, utilities, railroads are valued at the price
printed on the board. (2) Any mortgaged property is valued at one-half
the price printed on the board. (3) Houses are valued at purchase price
found on the property's deed card. (4) Hotels are valued at the hotel
purchase price found on the deed card plus the purchase price of the 4
houses required in order to purchase a hotel. (5) "Get Out of Jail
Free" cards are valued at $50.
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Player’s Name (first and last)
|
Gross Worth
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End Rank (1=highest)
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|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
|
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
|
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
|
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
|
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
|
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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Players - Four
groups of individuals, representing four classes in US society, play the game.
At each board:
| |
8 players
|
7 players
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6 players
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5 players
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4 players
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See
the webpage on Class for
links to current information about the distribution of income and wealth |
| Upper class =
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Middle class =
|
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| Working class =
|
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| Lower class =
|
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Order of Play - Turns
are taken in descending order, beginning with the upper class.
Inheritance -
Each group begins the game with the following amounts of money:
-
Upper class = $2,500
-
Middle class = $1,500
-
Working class = $1,000
-
Lower class = $500
Salaries - Salaries
are given each time a player passes go. Salaries are as follows:
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Upper class = $250
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Middle class = $200
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Working class = $150
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Lower class = $100
Purchase of Properties
- Opportunities for buying properties on the board are distributed as follows:
-
Upper class = may buy any
property on the board
-
Middle class = may buy
purple, light blue, maroon and orange properties plus utilities and
railroads
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Working class = may buy
purple, light blue, maroon and orange properties
-
Lower class = may buy
only purple and light blue properties
Income Tax - Any class
landing on the income tax square must pay $200 each time; there is no option
of paying 10%.
Go to Jail - Different
rules apply for each class when being instructed to go to jail.
Upper class = Upon receiving instructions to go to jail, the upper class
immediately rolls the dice. If they receive an odd roll, they go to jail, but
can roll again immediately. If the second roll is greater than 7, then they
are released. If less than 7, they must remain in jail taking their regular
turn until a number greater than 7 is rolled, or pay $50 for release.
Middle class = must go directly to jail. On the next or any following turn
can pay $50 to get out or can remain until a number greater than 7 is rolled.
Working class = must go directly to jail. On the next or any following
turn can pay $50 to get out or remain there until doubles are rolled.
Lower class = must go directly to jail. Must remain there until doubles
are rolled.
The Bank - The Upper
class is the bank.
Additional Rules
It is against the rules to
complain about the rules. The sentence is going to jail; to be released, see
"go to jail."
Any unclear rules will be
clarified by the Upper class, at their discretion.
All students must complete
one worksheet for their board; you will need it for your paper. Each board
must also turn in one completed worksheet to the instructor.
Gross Worth = Cash on hand +
Value of properties. According to Monopoly, properties are valued as follows:
(1) All lots, utilities, railroads are valued at the price printed on the
board. (2) Any mortgaged property is valued at one-half the price printed on
the board. (3) Houses are valued at purchase price found on the property's
deed card. (4) Hotels are valued at the hotel purchase price found on the deed
card plus the purchase price of the 4 houses required in order to
purchase a hotel. "Get Out of Jail Free" cards are valued at $50.
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Player’s Starting Class (Inheritance) |
Player’s Name (first and last)
|
Gross Worth
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End Rank (1=highest)
|
|
Upper ($2,500)
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____________________________
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$_________
|
______
|
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Middle ($1,500)
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____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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Middle ($1,500)
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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|
Working ($1,000)
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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Working ($1,000)
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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|
Working ($1,000)
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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Lower
($500)
|
____________________________
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$_________
|
______
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Lower
($500)
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____________________________
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$_________
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______
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1.What happened in general at your board?
2.What happened to you?
3.What is your reaction to what happened?
Essay: Analyze your
experiences, individually and collectively at your board, playing Monopoly and
Inequality Monopoly in light of the course readings thus far.
Notes: Discuss /
Explain your experiences only to set up the analysis. The analysis of your
experiences should be the primary focus of the essay.
You must refer to the
readings specifically in order to back up/explain your analysis. Also be
certain make logical, sound, and accurate arguments.
Refer to the section on
grading and writing in the syllabus to be certain that you understand how I
read and grade written material. Also, refer to the section on academic
integrity in the syllabus to make certain that you follow the ODU Honor Code.
Rules of Engagement:
The essay must be typed/word processed, double-spaced, with appropriate
margins and readable font size, page numbers, and no more than three (3) pages
in length.
Please staple pages together
(no binders or report covers) and put your Social Security Number only in the
top right corner (no names, no title page).
Cite author, year, and page
numbers of pertinent information in books, articles, and/or all class
materials used in the essay (in-text citation style) and prepare a References
list as exemplified on the accompanying information sheet. The References list page is not counted in the 3 page limit.
The essay is due at the start
of the exam on ________________ .
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Download this page [without links]
as Adobe/.pdf file
Companion website for Reiman's The Rich Get Richer
and the Poor Get Prison and
The Rich (Still) Get Richer…: Understanding Ideology,
Outrage and Economic Bias - a talk by Jeffrey Reiman
Resources on class and
stratification for Class, Race, Gender & Crime
Links to resources on Corporate Crime and
Elite Deviance
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