In the game, I was in the poor class. This presents a case of social stratification. That is, there were those who were wealthier than I was. My initial investment was $500 dollars. With the choices of investments, I made I ended up having $1,126 when the game ended. The number of properties acquired was seven. I was mobile upward because based on the initial small investment of $500 we were only able to collect small amounts of money every time we passed go. This then led us to strategize to ensure that we were not barley surviving in the game. The upper class won the game based on the notion that he had a lot of money in the end.
Being in the poor class limited our opportunities. This is because the upper class and the middle class had a lot of initial financial background to start within the game. Opportunities in this game may be limited by gender. For instance, in America, gender inequality forms a major basis for social inequality. The male gender has dominated most of the businesses in America. People (men) from the upper class tend to have fathers who have created being empires and as such they are groomed to take places in their fathers companies. Most of the income inequality in America is classified based on race. Different races receive different treatment in the game of monopoly.
It is indeed true that the game of monopoly operates on the principle of survival for the fittest. The American society also has the same principle. Generally, societies progress with individuals that are able to go the extra mile. In America, the wealthy, normally control most of the politics in terms of shaping policies that operate in the country. Most of the policies and bills being sponsored are done so by individuals who want to protect their interests and has little to do with the less fortunate. A case of racial discrimination is a common example in the American society. African American shave been racially abused for decades in America. Every now and then, the form of racial discrimination changes in different ways.
The initial positions handed to as at the start of the game was not fair, it made me feel very angry. It represented a case of opportunities being given to individuals that do not have what it takes to progress, case in point were the two middle classes that made not very good investment choices. Once opportunities came our way, the only limitation was our financial background. Financial background in the society is very important as it provides a certain level of social class, which may be very useful in making certain choices in terms of investments. People may more likely make a deal with individual that are socially recognized, as this gives them more advantage in terms of expanding their networks. Education provides a form of opportunity that most people who have access to basic education can use to move up the social ladder. With an education background, we were able to employ strategies that enable us to acquire seven properties. The real world bears resemblance to the game of monopoly. The criminal justice system has more blacks than whites. This has led to some sort of social stratification where majority of African Americans are associated with crime.
Works Cited
Ferris, Kerry, and Jill Stein. “Chapter 7 Social Class the Structure Of Inequality” The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2012. Print.
