The US economy is stagnating. The Eurozone is in turmoil. The UK may be dragged back into recession. The present crisis is not a mere economic downturn, but a fundamental loss of value, caused by excessive financial speculation and foolish political decision-making over decades. Nevertheless, we must never forget that capitalism is the greatest tool of economic development and social advance ever known. Korea used to be one country. Thirty years after the Korean war, GDP per capita in capitalist South Korea was five times that of communist North Korea. In 2009 it was sixteen times greater. China’s economic growth only accelerated in the 1980s, when it opened up special economic zones and implemented market-oriented reforms. Trade, not aid, is pulling Africa out of poverty after decades of stagnation.But the case for capitalism is not just economic and social; it is also moral. Capitalism is often said to be intrinsically unethical, and driven by greed; to be founded on theft by “robber barons”; to create and perpetuate exploitation and inequality; even to be morally vacant.