It has always been a land of contrasts. Switzerland is a country that never goes to war, yet where everyone is armed. It is the European home of the UN, yet it has been accused of playing a part in smuggling Nazi goldDuring World War Two, the Nazis looted many of the countries they occupied. It is thought that they disposed of this gold through Swiss banks, which are known to have received 0m in gold (bn in today's money) from Nazi sources.. And it is one of the world's most open economies, with some of its most opaque banking laws.

And it is these laws that have now embroiled it in a storm of controversy. On Sunday, The Guardian revealed that Swiss bank Credit Suisse, one of the world's biggest private banks, has held more than £80bn in wealth for clients involved in serious crimes like drug trafficking, corruption and even torture.

Among their customers are a human traffickerHuman trafficking is smuggling people from one place to another for the purpose of forced labour or other kinds of exploitation. in the Philippines, a Hong Kong billionaire accused of taking bribes and a Serbian securities fraudsterSecurities fraud refers to a variety of crimes involving stealing from or deceiving investors to enrich oneself..

But this is not just a Swiss problem. Last week a former minister revealed that 10 Downing Street stopped him from introducing measures to crack down on money launderingMaking money acquired illegally seem to have come from a legitimate source, often by feeding it into the income stream of a legitimate organisation. in London. It is thought that at least £5bn in UK property has been bought with suspicious wealth.

For some, this is proof that capitalism, the economic system that has dominated the globe since 1991, is inherently corrupt.

This is nothing new. People have been arguing over this question for almost as long as capitalism has existed.

In the 18th Century, the French philosopher Helvetius argued that the growth of luxury goods was destroying European societies. He worried that luxury was sapping people's energy and undermining their love for their country and for their fellow citizens.

Then in the 1800s, Karl MarxA 19th-Century German economist and philosopher who argued that capitalism was doomed to collapse. launched a new attack on capitalism. He argued that capitalism could only create wealth by exploiting the poor. He compared capitalism to a vampire, sucking the life out of the workers.

But since the beginning, others have suggested that corruption can be a good thing. In the early 18th Century, Dutch thinker Bernard MandevilleA Dutch-born philosopher who lived most of his life in England. His most famous work is The Fable of the Bees, in which he argues that immoral behaviour is good for the public. asserted that it was people, not capitalism, who were corrupt, greedy and self-serving. 

Capitalism, he claimed, could turn their individual greed towards the public good. The more wealth people tried to accumulate for themselves, the richer everyone got. And because it forced them to work together, it made them better people.

Mandeville's ideas resurfaced in the 20th Century in the form of trickle-down economicsThe controversial idea that lowering taxes on the rich is actually good for the poor, as they will spend and invest it in productive ventures.. Economists like Milton Friedman argued that it was good for everyone if the rich were greedy because they would invest their money in projects that would provide more employment.

He insisted that getting rid of capitalism - or even trying to limit it with taxes and regulations - would make everyone poorer. It would reduce the incentive to come up with new inventions to improve production and make our lives easier.

But some think there must be a middle ground between these two positions. They argue that capitalism does create wealth and innovation, but that if it is left to its own devices it will produce so much inequality that society will collapse.

Yes: Capitalism means enriching yourself at the expense of everyone else. When your only aim is to make money, no moral code can bind you. Not only is it corrupt, it corrupts human beings.

No: Human beings are corrupt. Capitalism is the only economic system that can harness that corruption for the public good. Occasional scandals are a small price to pay for global prosperity.

Or... Capitalism does create wealth, but it also creates corruption. We should try to control capitalism so that we can moderate its worst excesses, while still benefiting from its advantages.