Is Monopoly feminist?

I’ve been playing a lot of Monopoly recently. My son got his first grown-up set for Christmas and, even after time has increased the entropy of his Lego sets and Scalextric, this is the present he still pulls out. I have no objection — why wouldn’t I break off from completing my tax return to watch someone else squirm at income tax? — but his mother is doubtful about the game’s message. She has already forbidden the card game Old Maid on feminist grounds (‘You shouldn’t be stigmatised for not being in a couple!’); should we really be teaching him the fun side of capitalism?

One of Fidel Castro’s first actions on seizing power was to ban the game and have all sets in Cuba destroyed. The government of Hungary, less strictly doctrinaire than other communist regimes, licensed an adaptation called Gazdálkodj Okosan! (Budget Prudently!), which may sound joyless but had chance cards like: ‘Go to the cinema! The films are instructive and entertaining.