This "crucible moment" in which democratic capitalism finds itself does not call for more government mandates to dictate progressive activism in higher education. Rather, this crucible moment calls higher education on its own initiative to focus on the moral foundation that both democracy and capitalism require. The foundation of democratic representative government and a market economy lies in the virtues, capacities, and skills that lead to trust in leaders of government, business, and the professions and among the citizens themselves. These are critical educational objectives for higher education, but higher education does poorly at fostering them. To respond to this crucible moment, the author proposes that a major educational objective of higher education should be to foster internalization of a moral core of deep responsibility for others, particularly the person directly being served, with some restraint on self-interest, as well as the other elements of an ethical identity, in as large a proportion of students as possible. (Contains 8 footnotes.)