Save aid!

Bill Gates is worried about Britain. For years, the UK government has been one of the world’s largest donors in overseas aid, and about £60 million has been given to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But aid has been rather unpopular lately, prompting questions about whether a generous country like Britain needs charitable donations collected by the taxman. And indeed, whether the aid spending pledge might be dropped in the general election campaign. Mr Gates senses a different tone of debate in Washington and London, with too few people making the case for government aid. So the world’s richest man is stepping in.

He was in Britain last week to confront various arguments against aid — starting with the idea that global capitalism is now doing the job, with poverty falling at the fastest rate in history. With western governments mired in debt, is it safe to let global trade take over? Even over the phone, his irritation is audible.