Its packaging bore the name that you all now know as “Monopoly”. It would soon become one of the most successful board games of all time. The bitter irony of the story is that little remained of Elizabeth Magie’s pedagogical purpose of illustrating the negative repercussions of monopolies – on the contrary: the game is often seen as the outgrowth of unbridled capitalism.
What is true is that Monopoly shows what can happen if markets are left entirely to their own devices. Once all other players have been eliminated, Monopoly is over, and with it the fun. In the real world, the actual monopoly status would be just the beginning.