How to turn a liberal hipster into a capitalist tyrant in one evening

I assume these same liberal hipsters would also be happy to bankrupt their friends in Monopoly. Because just like this study, it's a game.

The author is making the false assumption that the players would make the same decisions as CEOs in real life. Deciding to cut workers wages instead of laying some off or shutting down the business does not making someone a capitalist tyrant. That's like saying putting down a sick dog makes someone an animal abuser.

The option given was between lowering wages, or firing a third of the workers.

If those are truly your only options, I would hardly call you a capitalist tyrant for lowering wages. However, I imagine that in most cases, these are not the only options.

For me personally, this article seemed to play on the fact that external viewers to the game (e.g. readers like me) will naturally feel that there are other, more humane options. Forgetting about the rigid constraints of the game - since they did not play it themselves.

(I'm not sure if the above makes sense, I've never been to good at explaining myself)