Another day, another wake-up call. This time it’s DeepSeek—a Chinese AI breakthrough that matches Silicon Valley’s best while spending just $5.6 million compared to Meta’s tens of billions. Last week, Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of operations for the US Space Force, warned Congress about China’s “mind-boggling” military space advancements. China has already captured global EV markets and dominated solar panel production. Beijing’s hypersonic missile test in 2021 literally circled the globe before striking its target, leaving US military leaders stunned. Each time, America’s leaders—both in government and industry—react with the same bewildered surprise, as if China’s achievements were some cosmic accident.

But these aren’t flukes. They’re the inevitable result of a system that works—one that prioritizes national goals, coordinates resources, and rewards results. It’s also a system America pioneered, helping us build everything from the transcontinental railroad to the Hoover Dam, the interstate highway system, and the rural electrification that powered a nation. We abandoned that system, and China has embraced it. They planned and invested, while the United States clung to a failed ideology: the belief that free markets, left to their own devices, will save us.

This worship of markets didn’t come out of nowhere. It started with Friedrich von Hayek, his student Milton Friedman, and the Chicago school of economics, who sold America a seductive story: that government planning was inefficient, that regulation stifled innovation, that the free market would solve everything. They, along with Ronald Reagan, convinced America that government was the problem, not the solution. Their vision of markets as the ultimate problem-solvers spread through Washington, and by the 1980s, administrations from both parties had bought in. From Reagan through Clinton, Bush, Obama, and yes, even Trump, our leaders doubled down on the notion that deregulation, privatization, and globalization would lead to prosperity.

We inherited a nation built by generations of blood, sweat, and tears, then decided to dismantle it for short-term profits. Somehow, we thought the wealth would flow eternally. America’s leaders didn’t understand how our wealth was built, so they didn’t respect what it took. That’s what Friedman and his followers sold us—a fantasy that we didn’t need to do the hard work anymore because markets would take care of it all.

And what did 50 years of market worship get us? A gutted industrial base, a hollowed-out middle class, and an economy that can’t compete. We outsourced manufacturing, neglected our capacity to produce, and left ourselves dependent on fragile supply chains. Markets didn’t save us—they bled us dry. Sure, a few people got incredibly rich. But at what cost to our nation?

Look at the market’s reaction just this week: Nvidia’s stock plunged 15 percent, wiping out hundreds of billions in value, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq had dropped 3.5 percent. Why? Because DeepSeek showed it could match American AI capabilities without relying on our expensive chips or vast computing resources. As one market strategist put it, it was “a big slap in the face” for investors.

China’s rise isn’t just about tech; it’s about building with purpose. Chinese automakers already produce 62 percent of the world’s EVs and control 77 percent of EV battery production. And they’re just getting started—analysts predict they’ll make a third of all vehicles worldwide by 2030. This didn’t happen by accident. China’s exports shot up by 851 percent in just three years, from 2020 to 2023. The same story plays out in infrastructure: Over the past 20 years, China has built tens of thousands of miles of high-speed rail, while California can’t complete a single 500-mile line. While America was busy with stock buybacks and quarterly profits, China spent decades building an integrated system linking research, manufacturing, and innovation.