When Pope Francis issued his first apostolic exhortation in November, he took aim at modern capitalism for encouraging “idolatry of money” and growing inequality in the world.

“While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by the happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,” the Pope wrote in Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel).

His words resonated with many people who face the seemingly inexorable rise of the richest 1 per cent and income stagnation among the middle class in advanced economies. For the world as a whole, however, the Pope was wrong on both counts. Not only has income distribution become more equal but capitalism can take the credit.