We do actually capitalise a lot less than was done in the past. Find some unmodernised English writing from circa 1600, say, and you'll find lots of capitalisat

We do actually capitalise a lot less than was done in the past. Find some unmodernised English writing from circa 1600, say, and you'll find lots of capitalisation of (non-proper) nouns, for example. The contemporary convention of capitalising the first letter of a new sentence helps to show more clearly where sentences begin and end. Capitalising proper names helps distinguish particular special (not necessarily animate) individuals from things that merely have some common property. "In the times in which we live, The Times keeps us informed of world events." "The spectator was not actually spectating, but was reading The Spectator."