If you know me, or follow this blog, you know I have a deep love of board games. And you probably know that I dislike Monopoly, even when it’s played properly. That shouldn’t taint the following assertion though, because it’s truer that a true thing strapped to a polygraph.

Monopoly ruined the world.

The generation that grew up playing Monopoly seems to have taken the game deep into its heart. Witness.

• They bought up all the property.
• They bought up all the public works.
• They bought up all the trains.
• They bought up all the electric companies.
• They emptied the community chest.

They played a game designed to warn against the dangers of putting all the wealth in the hands of a few people, and they learned the exact opposite lesson.