Gabor Steingart’s The War for Wealth is a sweeping critique of globalization and its profound impact on the world’s economic order. Steingart, a seasoned journalist and economist, traces the arc of global power from the British Empire through the American century, and now to the meteoric rise of China and India. He argues that globalization has not been the tide that lifts all boats; rather, it has led to a redistribution of resources, with Western nations suffering a dramatic loss of jobs, industrial capacity, and political influence. The book is rich with historical context, examining how events from a century ago continue to shape today’s economic realities, and it draws a stark contrast between the West’s mounting debt-fueled consumption and Asia’s relentless, efficiency-driven growth.

Steingart’s analysis is particularly critical of the West’s complacency and dogmatic faith in free markets. He contends that the U.S. and Europe have become over-reliant on consumer spending and have neglected the erosion of their economic foundations. Meanwhile, Asian powers, especially China, have weaponized economic efficiency, quietly outmaneuvering the West without engaging in ideological battles. The book lays out three possible futures: a global economic crash (“shock scenario”), total Asian dominance (“Asia-over-all scenario”), or a Western resurgence driven by pragmatic cooperation between the U.S. and Europe (“American renaissance scenario”). Steingart’s solutions call for rethinking free trade, establishing international labor standards, and even considering a “United States of the West” to counterbalance Asia’s rise/