I Raise You a Game of Monopoly

You know that story that gets passed around on the internet every few months about the professor who creates a socialist experiment in his classroom and all the students end up failing because no one wants to work hard just to get a lower grade than they deserve? Well, I see that apocryphal story and raise you a game of Monopoly.

Thing is, being concerned about full-blown socialism does not require being against social compacts, and being concerned about unfettered capital ≠ anti-capitalism.

A healthy market economy requires a healthy tension and balance between capital and labor and natural resources. If capital continues to call more and more of the shots (including increasing control over government/military/flow of information/education), where does that lead us? I think Adam Smith must be rolling over in his grave. And Pope Francis isn't having it.

From David Simon (creator of The Wire): "I'm utterly committed to the idea that capitalism has to be the way we generate mass wealth in the coming century. That argument's over. But the idea that it's not going to be married to a social compact, that how you distribute the benefits of capitalism isn't going to include everyone in the society to a reasonable extent, that's astonishing to me . . . Capitalism is a remarkable engine again for producing wealth. It's a great tool to have in your toolbox if you're trying to build a society and have that society advance. You wouldn't want to go forward at this point without it. But it's not a blueprint for how to build the just society. There are other metrics besides that quarterly profit report. . . .Are we all in this together or are we all not?"