If we can’t change the rules, we must teach people how to play.

Over the last decade, stock and house prices have been growing faster than wages. And while this may seem like a simple observation, it has had a profound effect on the developed world by driving up inequality. No matter how hard people work, those who own assets, are pulling further ahead financially.

This is deeply unfair.

Why? Wealth grows more quickly for those who start rich. This may even be passive income, not earned by going to work. Secondly, inheritance plays a huge part in who is rich and poor as this inequality compounds over generations. And finally, some assets, like property, become much harder to afford as prices go up.

If this feels familiar, it’s because it is. Remember Monopoly? In hindsight, it’s quite a mature - and even greedy - game for a child: players buy, trade, and develop properties to dominate the board. If you have played you will no doubt remember the thrill of becoming a landlord and the dread of landing on someone else’s property forced to pay rent. Wealth accumulated for those owning properties and luck played a huge role in who won the game. Not only that, even though the winner was obvious, the game was drawn out and the losers waited an obscenely long time for the game to end. It was fun if you were winning.

In fact, the original version of Monopoly had different rules to the one we play today: the money was forced to be shared more equally. Instead, the version that became popular was one where the goal was to bankrupt other players.

In an ideal world, we would change the rules of the game: hike taxes on the wealthy and re-distribute the money. But what is easy in theory is difficult in practice: the rich can move can money easily across borders and global coordination is unlikely.

So what do we do in the meantime? We teach people the rules of the game and how to play it:

While not everyone can inherit wealth, buy a home tomorrow or start a business, more people can learn how to invest. We have better access to investing than ever, hundreds of funds to invest in, easily accessible platforms and low fees. But real access is not just opening an investment account, it’s about understanding the risks you are taking, having the financial knowledge and confidence to put money “to work” as well as having trust in other players.

Right now, those who need financial education the most – low-income communities, women and other marginalised groups - are the least likely to receive it. Most schools still do not teach students about personal finance, saving, debt or investing. This has implications for the system as a whole: those who do not save enough must be helped by a broader security net, that ultimately others pay for.

Today financial literacy is no longer optional, it is essential and we have a moral obligation to democratise financial knowledge. Everyone deserves a fair shot at financial security, independence, and freedom.

If we can’t yet change the rules, the least we can do is teach people how to play.

If you or someone you know would learn how to “play” better, then please sign up to the course.