There was a social psychological experiment conducted not too long ago which utilized a board game that most of us have all played at some point, Monopoly. People were chosen at random to participate in a simple game of Monopoly, two strangers playing one on one. However, one of the players, also chosen at random, was deemed the rich player while the other the poor player. Meaning the rich player was able to roll two dice while the poor player only one. The rich player was able to collect $200 dollars each time they passed go while the poor player was only allowed to collect $100. Now given the rich player was able to roll two dice as oppossed to one, he/she was able to move across the board faster thus allowing them to cross go more often than the poor player who could only roll one dice at a time. So the rich player was not only able to pass go more often, they also collected an extra $100 dollars more than the poor person when they did so. On top of that, the rich player started with a considerably larger bank roll than the opposing poor player. This being said, the results of this experiment revealed some astonishing outcomes. Those who were chosen as the rich player who knowingly knew the board was rigged, became increasingly more entitled and demeaning to the poor player who was only 2 feet away them. It became an exercise in domination at the expense of the poor player, who was chosen to be the poor player at random. Very interesting if you ask me. I don't feel I need to express the implication of such an experiment in comparison to society, however I will do so. Basically the designer of this experiment was expressing the uneven playing field that exist within American society; when you are born you are randomly born into a rich family or a poor one, you don't get to choose one or the other as a newborn. So the 'American Dream' which we constantly default to as if it were religious doctrine, is for all intents and purposes a rigged one. For some it is the 'American Dream' and for other as it is the exact opposite: the American Nightmare.
So, the major issue here revolves around the outcome of the rigged board game. Basically this experiment begs the question: are people innately greedy, or does wealth beget greed? Once wealth is acquired, regardless of how it was accumulated (earned or at random) they become obsessively focused on the bottom line (more wealth which they feel they are entitled to) and want to increase their wealth exponentially at any cost. Not only that, they create financial endeavors to increase profit regardless of the social repercussions. Example: the rich player begins to buy up lots of property and erecting large hotels on them which in turn contributes to the bankruptcy of the poor player who can't pay the exorbitant fees if he happens to land on said property. In the real world we call this gentrification.
So I say to you: do you believe the outcome of the rigged board game? According to that experiment the rich player became increasingly more entitled and less caring of the poor player sitting across from her/him. Can wealth change a person so decidedly? Well based in a society where wealth, literally IS The American Dream, I would say for the majority of us wealth can change a person. It's a part of the indoctrination of a capitalistic society. So does it make that person a bad person? Not necessarily, because what happens is the actions of the wealthy are justified in the eyes of capitalism deeming said actions okay. Believe you me, I get it. If your rich why not want to be richer? Whats better than a million dollars? A BILLION dollars.
But ultimately what gets lost when you are the rich player in the rigged game of Monopoly, you forget the game was tilted in your favor from the start. You forget to have any compassion for the poor player who started with less than you. How much is the loss of human compassion really worth, a million, a billion? That is the bigger question.
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