Our society is generally thought to be a ‘capitalist’ one, i.e. our economic system is one based around the private ownership of the means of production, operated for private profit. Enthusiasts talk about capitalism as a system which fits well with the ‘selfish’ side of human nature, generating public profit from our ‘natural’ pursuit of personal gain; capitalism has been associated with liberal democracy and prosperity. Critics, on the other hand, associate capitalism with the exploitation of workers (the proletariat) by the owners of the capital (the bourgeoisie); with the long and dreadful history of imperialism; with the endless, pointless concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, when it could be made to work for the good of all. Increasingly since the 2008 global financial crisis, ‘capitalism’ has been cited as the source of everything bad in the world: the reason why you feel depressed or overworked; why your favourite TV show got cancelled; why we keep on burning fossil fuels on a rapidly warming planet. In this module, you will explore both historical and contemporary philosophical perspectives to help you figure out how capitalism works, whether or not it can be (morally) justified, and what (if anything) the alternative might be.