Monopoly Simulator Essay

Did you ever think of Monopoly as a marketplace simulator? Well, I certainly did not until this assignment was introduced to our Civics class. Students learned three economic concepts by completing this activity. Working with a business partner, economic freedom, and private property rights, come up in this game almost every turn.
To begin with, I believe that working with a business partner has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage would be that partners can help you make the many difficult decisions in the marketplace. In addition, you do not have to accept full responsibility if your plan does not work out the way you both planned. Some disadvantages would be that you and your business partner must agree on everything you do, and your partner could end up selling their share of the business to someone that you cannot work with. When I worked with a business partner, however, we got along great and agreed on everything we did. I was very fortunate to have had such a great first experience of working with a business partner and I would have no problems doing it again.
Second, the concept of economic freedom is illustrated through the game of Monopoly many times. One part of economic freedom is being able to choose what products to buy, which in Monopoly is the property and houses. Another part of this concept is no government interference. In this case, the government was the bank. Being allowed to dictate what the players decided to buy or sell was one thing that the bank could not do. Also, the business partners must accept the consequences of their decisions. If they go bankrupt, or fail to make money off their property, the government, or the bank, will not help out.
Finally, private property rights were exercised in this game over and over. One example is that you can do what you want with your property and the house or hotels that are on it. You and your partner decide whether or not you want to buy or sell a property. Assets may be acquired...