Hasbro, the makers of the iconic family game Monopoly, released a new satirical socialist-themed spin on the old classic, drawing vocal reactions from the left and the right.
Monopoly is a vastly popular game that challenges players to engage in pretend capitalism, purchasing the most “property” as they seek to monopolize the board. Hasbro recently released a spinoff version of the game called Monopoly: Socialism, which mocks the anti-capitalist economic system. A professor from Rutgers University went viral on Thursday when he purchased the game and posted a series of 20 tweets critiquing its negative depiction of socialism, creating a flurry of online debate.
Many conservatives chimed in to the discussion, taking advantage of the moment to discuss some of socialism’s failures. Author and Townhall senior columnist Kurt Schlichter highlighted how many people have died under redistributionist forms of government. (RELATED: Chicago Teachers Praise Venezuela During Trip To The Country)
If Monopoly wanted to do socialism right, it would have 100,000,000 corpses as a token https://t.co/9zttUSkEp6
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) August 22, 2019
Conservative documentary maker and political pundit Dinesh D’Souza reminded his Twitter following of socialism’s negative economic effects.
A socialist version of Monopoly? Is the goal to end up with the fewest hotels and properties? If so we can’t call that person a winner, only a loser. So it all makes sense: Socialism is for losers! https://t.co/AdiS1e86i3
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 22, 2019
However, not everybody found the parody game to be so insightful. Some on the left alleged that it doesn’t do enough to “understand” socialism and how it might theoretically work.
It goes without saying that this game is entirely uninterested in trying to understand what socialism actually is and how it might function. 8/
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) August 21, 2019
Other pundits joined the conversation to slam those who play the game. AV columnist Reid McCarter published an article suggesting that it’s made “by dipshits for dipshits.”
Professor Nick Kapur, who seems to have made the parody Monopoly go viral in the first place, agrees with McCarter. According to him, the only possible target audience for such a game is “hate-filled Boomers raised during the Cold War.”
I guess maybe in this golden age of “Euro-style” board games like Catan, nobody under 60 plays “Monopoly” anymore? Maybe Hasbro actually knows its audience, and that audience is just hate-filled Boomers raised during the Cold War and triggered by whatever people under 40 do? 20/ pic.twitter.com/DLZtZEaJOY
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) August 21, 2019