Critics of capitalism have regularly anticipated its demise, suggesting that it is likely to collapse under the weight of its internal contradictions and arguing that this is something to be welcomed, many insisting that it is a system that is beyond reform. Defenders of capitalism, typically, tout its benefits while maintaining that whatever failings it appears to possess reflect not any internal weaknesses but the unfortunate reality of political intervention in its operation. In these differing assessments, the term “capitalism” is not always consistently—or even coherently—deployed, and all too often the meaning of the word and the identity of the subject is entirely unclear. This lecture offers a re-examination of the idea of capitalism and aims to show that neither its critics nor its defenders have operated with accounts that serve their purposes or have any independent utility. It goes on to present an analysis of the meaning of capitalism, setting it in the context of a broader theory of modernity.