Blog Post 1

How has a board game helped me to better understand how to live a good life?

In my Introduction to Ethics class, we played “Real Life” Monopoly. In this game, the players were split into categories of unprivileged and privileged people where the privileged had many advantages in the game. For example, they could roll both die and started with more money. We switched roles the second game so that each student could experience both perspectives. This simulation of the real world gave me insight into my own life.

            Ethics is the systematic study of moral ideas, values, and principles. The fundamental question in ethics is: “How do we live a good life?”. This game has caused me to question how I can live a good life. When I was unprivileged, the game felt unfair and it was not fun to play anymore. When the opportunity to buy insurance came about, I could not afford to protect myself. This caused me to have to pay more throughout the game when I needed an operation, or my property was damaged due to real life situations. I had to decide what the necessities were that I needed to buy in order to do well. It was hard to save when every space I landed on asked for money each time I went around the board. Some privileged people took advantage of the unprivileged when they landed on privileged properties. Other times they felt sorry for those unprivileged even if they were getting money out of their loss. This points out a need for compassion in society. When we work together as a community, such as making universal healthcare, all can profit even if they cannot pay as much as others. If everyone cooperates in paying insurance, those involved get the benefits of the insurance money. These principles help society promote living a good life.

Why do I think this way?

            I can relate these experiences to my own life through the financial decisions I have to make. I have had a job for the past three summers and had saved up a lot to buy a car this year. When I finally bought the car, all the hard earned money from multiple summers was almost gone in one payment. Now I have to pay for gas, maintenance, and eventually insurance. This put into perspective that those who are unprivileged would have to give up a lot to own a car and they would be left with a lot less than I. It is hard to get around without a car. It is equally hard to make up the money to buy the car and maintain it. I also see what I learned from the game in the job I have in college. I try to put most of the money I earn away each month to save up for future expenses. That is hard to do when I have to pay for school supplies, gas, or other necessities. These are like the necessities in the game.

Playing both games helped me to realize what a big difference being privileged and unprivileged makes on a person’s life. I had to strategize differently to survive the game. If this were real life, I could not just leave the table and my troubles are over. I would have to face all the struggles of real life and deal with them accordingly. This game helped me to see how I can live a better life by promoting the principles of cooperation, community, and compassion.

Word count: 592

-JRM