59 pages • 1 hour read
Peter SchweizerBlood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
ConclusionChapter Summaries & Analyses
Conclusion Summary
In the Conclusion of Blood Money, Schweizer summarizes his claims that Beijing’s actions are causing significant harm to the US through fentanyl, illegal gun enhancements, media platforms, and manipulation of the COVID-19 pandemic. He criticizes US leaders for their lack of a strong response, attributing it to either ignorance or personal financial interests. Schweizer suggests that some leaders may even align ideologically with China’s political system. He frames China’s strategy as part of an “unrestricted war,” aiming to weaken the US through physical, mental, and strategic means, including espionage, land purchases, and political influence.
Schweizer calls for a bipartisan consensus on China’s alleged malign strategy, contrasting it with the corporate drive to benefit at any cost. He highlights the passage of the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2023 as a positive step, but questions whether it will be effectively enforced. He thinks that waiting for China’s internal problems to resolve is a dangerous approach, urging US policymakers to adopt a more assertive strategy in confronting Beijing’s aggression.
Conclusion Analysis
Schweizer’s Conclusion delivers a synthesis of the tropes utilized in the previous chapters. He employs a combination of emotional appeals, speculative assertions, and strategic fearmongering to wrap up his argument that China is leading a multifaceted assault on the US, highlighting a thematic preoccupation with Covert Manipulation and Disinformation Campaigns.
The portrayal of China as a nefarious actor waging an invisible war through various means—from espionage to the opioid epidemic—mobilizes existing American anxieties about The Interconnection Between Organized Crime and State Interests as well as The Erosion of American Values Through Foreign Interference. Such an argument relies on emotional appeal rather than concrete evidence. Schweizer’s decision to characterize China’s actions as part of an organized and deliberate strategy imbues his argument with an alarmist tone imbued with a sense of impending catastrophe, positioning the US as a nation on the brink of destruction.
Schweizer’s critique of US leadership relies on the idea that politicians are corrupt and, as a result, ideologically aligned with China. The ambiguity present in his argument due to the lack of concrete research support functions as a potent tool of persuasion: By not fully committing to any one explanation, Schweizer leaves room for his audience to fill in the gaps with their own suspicions and frustrations. This tactic fosters distrust of American institutions, presenting the US government as weak and complicit in its own demise.
