One of the topics we must cover in our World History class is economic systems. Specifically, we need the students to know the difference between Communism, Socialism, Capitalism and a Mixed Economy (and yes, Communism and Socialism are VERY different things kind of like how a Capitalistic Democracy and Fascism are VERY different things). By far the most effective way I have found to teach this is by using Mario Kart as an example.
If you are an avid Mario Kart player like all of my students are, it is easy to see all of these economic systems at play.
Perhaps the easiest to illustrate is Capitalism. In Capitalism, the goal is to make as much money as possible by either investing, working hard, or being born really really lucky. There are winners and losers. A few become super rich and more become super poor with a spectrum of wealth in between. In Mario Kart, players are trying to gather as many coins as possible as they go around the track. The more coins you get, the more your speed is boosted and the better you do. Kind of sounds like capitalism. In addition, Mario kart rewards hard work, practice and skill. If you have natural talent for the game and you practice a lot, you are going to do well, get lots of coins and win. If you don't, you lose. Capitalism!
Socialism is a little trickier but if the kids know the game they pick it up quickly. Even if they don't know the game it is still easy to explain use Mario Kart as an example. In Socialism, the goal is to close the gap between the rich and the poor. It is NOT meant to make everyone equal. It just smooth things out a bit to avoid a small group of super rich and a large group of very poor. People can still be rich in a Socialist economy but the disparity is not as huge. The same is true in the game. In Mario Kart, there are boxes that players can pick up in order to give them boosts. What they may not know is that the boxes are not random. They are based on how far ahead or how far behind you are in the race. If you are very far behind in the race, you only get the best boosts. If you are far ahead in the game, you only get the worst boosts. Some may argue, "This isn't fair! If I practice and I'm far ahead, I should not be punished!" And that can be true. If that is the case, there are plenty of games that will not punish or reward. But they will also not keep the race close and you may not be able to find anyone to play against you. It's important to remember the goal of the game is FUN. It is not just to test one's skill. Perhaps one of the reasons the game is so popular is the social aspect it creates. Even a brand new player has a chance against a group of experts because they might get the best boost boxes.
Next is Communism. Mario Kart actually seems to have a feature called "rubber banding". Although I do not believe it is explicitly stated anywhere by Nintendo, people have run experiments and have shown that if you are too far ahead of the next player, the game actually slows you down a little and speeds up the next player a little. Again, is this "fair"? Maybe and maybe not, but if it means you get more of your friends to play with you because they aren't frustrated they never have a chance, then it is fun. The fact that it is trying to make everyone equally by actually slowing one player down and speeding another up, is an excellent example of Communism. Again this is very different from Socialism which is about closing the gap a bit, not trying to make everyone equal. Also, this example leaves out the reality of Communism which that it devolves into a totalitarian regime like Animal Farm. On the same note, the Capitalism example does not factor in the down side of pure Capitalism resulting in child labor and unsafe products like in The Jungle.
In the end, the students always seem to see that like the real world, Mario Kart is a blended economy. It has aspects of both Socialism and Capitalism. Students also seem to see that this blend is very effective. It just depends on how much of the ingredients you prefer in the recipe. Some people prefer a little more Socialism with government playing a bigger role and some prefer more Capitalism with the government having a smaller role. As long as they understand that a pure form of each leads to misery, they understand the point of the lesson.
Have you seen any lessons in other games I can use?
