In praise of capitalism, the noble path that leads to profits

Contrary to modern myth, profits are not always a result of greed, but a signal of virtue. Stuart Watkins reports.

Anticapitalist demonstrators
The youth are revolting
(Image credit: © Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Not so very long ago, Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996), and the generation coming up after them (“Zoomers”), were lambasted for being politically disengaged and apathetic. Now the criticism emanating from conservative circles is more likely to be that they’re fomenting a Maoist cultural revolution, shutting down debates they dislike, harrying folk with the wrong views out of their jobs, making Jeremy Corbyn leader of the Labour party, screaming: “How dare you!” at insufficiently green global leaders... and so on.

Surveys show that this is not a product of the fevered imaginations of crusty old reactionaries, as a report by Kristian Niemietz for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) revealed earlier this year. “Younger people really do quite consistently express hostility to capitalism and have positive views of socialist alternatives of some sort,” says Niemietz.

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Stuart Watkins
Comment editor, MoneyWeek

Stuart graduated from the University of Leeds with an honours degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, and from Bath Spa University College with a postgraduate diploma in creative writing. 

He started his career in journalism working on newspapers and magazines for the medical profession before joining MoneyWeek shortly after its first issue appeared in November 2000. He has worked for the magazine ever since, and is now the comment editor. 

He has long had an interest in political economy and philosophy and writes occasional think pieces on this theme for the magazine, as well as a weekly round up of the best blogs in finance. 

His work has appeared in The Lancet and The Idler and in numerous other small-press and online publications.