Two competing political systems – commonly known as the Washington Consensus and the Beijing Consensus – have evolved over the past several decades, and their recent shifts in emphasis tell a story of increasing competition between approximate equals. The U.S., challenged by internal dissension, several crises hitting at once and a chasm between opposing perspectives, finds itself discussing publicly a threat to the continuation of its long tradition of democracy. China, challenged as well by internal conflict between stricter socialist thoughts and the distortion in wealth brought on by the past practice of its own brand of capitalism, finds itself reasserting control by the central government and the Chinese Communist Party. One competitor finds itself thinking about what it believes in and what path to follow forward while the other competitor has undertaken a project to curb the excesses of capitalism and refocus the country’s educational system, economy and private sector on “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” At present, the U.S. has the historical advantage, but China has momentum.