Monopoly's Forgotten Socialist Beginnings: Private Property as "Erroneous and Destructive Principle”

This week Nigeria became the first African country to launch its own version of Monopoly, which officials hope will teach "financial literacy." Irony alert: Long ago, in another galaxy, the world's best-selling, capitalism-loving board game began life as a way to spread the teachings of a radical 19th-century writer who hoped to “open the way to a realization of the noble dreams of socialism” with government-run social services and public-owned utilities. Much more great stuff. Zinn's People's History, lost again. “So long as all the increased wealth which modern progress brings goes but to build up great fortunes...progress is not real and cannot be permanent.” - Henry George.

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