Dear Professor Gunning: Perhaps you are thinking of "virtues" as sabbath preaching rather than habits of the heart we exercise moment-to-moment. That non-preaching definition is the one used now in ethical philosophy, and was routine from Plato through Adam Smith. Religion is not the same thing, therefore, as virtues. I admire Lal's work and agree with him on many things. But I'm a tiny bit suspicious of linking the actions of one man to the Rise of the West. Still, it's an intriguing idea (though it faces the problem, then, of explaining why supposedly non-individualistic societies like India and China have found it so easy recently to adopt capitalist ways. But we are drifting away a little from our trade-and-humans theme---though I'm very willing to converse on the virtues and capitalism with anyone who's interested! Regards, Deirdre McCloskey