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Mr. Monopoly Got It Wrong: Cooperation Makes More Money Than Competition
Copyright 2006 Debt or Alive, Inc
Monopoly is a zero sum game based on competition. Since the
money supply cannot increase, the players can win only by taking
money from other players. The fundamental belief behind Monopoly
is lack of money. This means that the only way to get more money
is to take it away from others.
This zero sum competitive game reflects the economic realities
of the Great Depression. While thousands stood in breadlines, a
handful made fortunes. For one to player to win, the others must
lose.
The rules of the Monopoly prohibit partnership. You cannot
create joint ventures. You cannot loan money to another player.
You cannot borrow money from another player.
The psychological effect of playing this highly competitive game
is that you are a solo player doing whatever you can to force
the other players to go bankrupt. The last thing you want to do
is to help someone else stay in the game because that person
might go on to drive you out of the game.
As an economic model for creating wealth, Monopoly teaches that
competition is the way of the world. It reinforces social models
based on competition, and the idea that success is a lonely
climb over the heads of others.
The belief that success means competition reinforces a whole
array of social models and beliefs about the "survival of the
fittest" and the "law of the jungle" where only the strong
prevail. You can see the same belief behind the American
mythology of the self-made man who pulls himself up by his
bootstraps.
Even Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" is a model of the
individual striving to succeed as an individual. It is all part
of the belief that success goes to the individual who wins the
competition.
This kind of imagery is deeply embedded in our consciousness
about what it takes to make money and what it takes to succeed
in business. Monopoly simply reinforces the fundamental belief
that the road to success is paved with the bodies of your
competitors.
As a success model, what is the effect of a game based on
competition for a limited money supply? You don't have to look
any further than the statistic that 96% of the population will
reach 65 without enough money to be financially self-sufficient.
Instead of congratulating the 4% who somehow manage to create
financial freedom for themselves in this economic system, you
need to ask, "What is wrong with the game? Why do so many lose?"
The short answer is that our economic models teach competition
for limited resources as the foundation of wealth. The model
itself demands that almost everyone must end the game broke.
What happens when you attempt to create wealth in business
according to Monopoly Money Rules? It's a highly competitive
game and a lonely struggle. You use your own money and do it
alone. Will you succeed? Maybe. You might be one of the lucky
few who manage to do it all yourself. More likely, you will end
up as one of the casualties of those who tried to start a
business but never made enough money to succeed.
As a model for creating wealth, Monopoly is stuck in the mindset
and money beliefs of the Great Depression. In the Monopoly game,
the winner amasses money but does nothing to create money
through transactions.
The Great Depression ended more than sixty years ago. It's time
for a new game with a new understanding of money. The fact is,
you'll make more money in transactions than you will in
takeovers. Mr. Monopoly had it wrong when he thought that
winning meant driving competitors out of business. Yes, I know.
The business world is still full of "black knights" and hostile
takeovers. And sometimes the worst people seem to win.
When you take off the Depression era Mr. Monopoly glasses, you
can see a new vision of money and business. Money is not
currency. Money is an idea, and the only limits to money are the
limits of your vision. With this vision, you'll see that you
will make more money in transactions than takeovers. In this
era, the most enlightened business people understand that you
will make more money in joint ventures with others than you will
by competing against them.
About the author:
Kalinda Rose Stevenson, Ph.D. Author of "No Money Limits For
Real Estate Investors: Are Monoply Money Rules Putting A Lid On
Your Real Estate Success?" Discover The Real Estate Money Secret
Hidden in the Monopoly Game.
http://www.nomoneylimits.com/nml-monopoly-ebook.htm
kalinda@nomoneylimits.com
Written by: Kalinda Stevenson
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