In “The World’s Worst Bet,” David J. Lynch examines the rise and fall of U.S.-led globalization, showing how bad decisions set the stage for economic disruption at home. The book focuses on the 1990s, when policymakers assumed that liberal democracy and free-market capitalism would naturally expand.
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, along with Treasury officials and corporate leaders, championed global trade, particularly the integration of China into the worldwide system, expecting prosperity to spread evenly across the nation.
Lynch illustrates how this optimism overlooked political realities abroad and social consequences at home. Communist China leaders preserved authoritarian control while leveraging global markets. Meanwhile, U.S. factory towns bore the brunt of surging imports as industrial supply chains shifted overseas. The International Trade Commission had predicted a 7% rise in Chinese imports in the first year after China joined the World Trade Organization; instead, the flood of cheap goods jumped 50%, leaving American workers in the cold.
Promises that trade benefits would trickle down through retraining and government programs largely failed. Trade Adjustment Assistance proved inadequate, and special interests left little room for meaningful corrective action. The rich got extraordinarily rich while the poor got remarkably poorer.
Through vivid portraits of factory workers, venture capitalists, and political leaders, Lynch frames globalization as a tragic tale of high-stakes decisions, mixed intentions, and unintended consequences. His book exposes the economic and social fractures that have fueled today’s populist movement, and offers a cautionary lesson about the risks of betting a nation’s future on untested global assumptions.
Lynch’s book is both a historical chronicle and a roadmap for understanding the financial pressures shaping America. In a nation divided, with the forces of globalization aligned against the current administration, Lynch’s book is a must-read for those looking to save the American worker.