U.S. foreign policy is built around a fundamental assumption that the United States faces growing competition politically, militarily, and economically. Economic competition in particular can be examined from a number of different perspectives grouped into two broad categories: The first is competition as outcome, or the ability to increase standards of living through domestic economic policies. The second is competition as action, where government policies and programs are applied to further not just economic but geopolitical and military goals. Taking readers from the 1990s debates about competitiveness to more current outlooks on geopolitical competition using economic instruments, the author explains the different types of economic tools and actions countries use to compete and whether they more effectively serve to provide for domestic economic strength or to gain advantage in security and geopolitical areas. Along the way the author explores wide-ranging themes of national competitiveness, competition for markets and investment, geopolitical competition with economic tools, economic warfare, and competition over the nature of the global economic system. After taking a broad look at forms of economic competition and competition using economics, the author shifts the discussion to why economic competition is relevant to the U.S. armed forces and, finally, what the policy implications are.