Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans

The ideological context of Peter Schweizer’s Blood Money is embedded in a conservative critique of globalization, elite corruption, and the perceived weakening of American sovereignty. A controversial book, Blood Money situates itself within the broader framework of right-wing discourse in the United States, particularly focusing on allegations of corruption and foreign influence in American politics and the role of China in domestic affairs. The book presents a narrative that incriminates powerful political figures, particularly those on the left like President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, and other Democratic figures, accusing them of compromising national security and public welfare for financial advantages, provided by their connection to China, particularly with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Schweizer’s claims in Blood Money center the concept of “unrestricted warfare”—an idea Schweizer borrows from a 1999 book by two Chinese military strategists that describes unconventional methods to undermine an adversary, including economic and drug warfare. He uses the discourse around this concept to assert China’s deliberate use of these tactics—regarding the fentanyl crisis for example—to destabilize the US from within:

In the 1990s, two senior Chinese military officers analyzed the power of the US military extensively and concluded that it was futile for Beijing to try to match it.