At Vox Nova, we often make assertions about the relationship between Michael Novak’s work in economic theory and the social teaching of the Catholic Church since Pope Leo XIII. These assertions are just what they are: assertions. What I would like to see more of from our contributors and from our readers are more substantive and documented approaches to this issue. I, for one, have not done a good job at providing documentation for my assertions despite having read much of Novak’s work. I think the tension between Novak’s work and that of, say, Pope John Paul II, is in plain view to those who read both authors within the proper socio-historical contexts in which they write and consider their texts with constant reference to their previous work. But there is no question that I need to back assertion with analysis and appeal to the sources.
What I would like to provide here is a motivation for those of us interested in the relationship between Novak’s thought and Catholic social teaching. I am providing two quotations that speak positively of that relationship and which go so far as to claim that Novak’s thought has either been partly appropriated by John Paul II or has been reflected by John Paul II in what remains, in my opinion, the most important yet most misrepresented papal social encyclical to date, namely, Centesimus Annus.
Here’s Michael Novak at an October 1994 news conference held on the occasion of his reception of the IWC International Prize:
“I must say, I’m quite gratified to see so many passages in Centesimus Annus seeming to reflect passages from my own work, including that distinction between political, economic and cultural, and (to) speak also, as I spoke earlier myself, on the ecology of liberty. I was very glad to see it given such a big megaphone by Centesimus Annus.”
Here’s Edward Younkins, Professor of Accountancy at Wheeling Jesuit University, in his article “Michael Novak’s Portrait of Democratic Capitalism” from the Spring 1999 issue of the Journal of Markets and Morality:
When the papal encyclical, Centesimus Annus, appeared in 1991, it was evident that Novak’s writings had been favorably received by Pope John Paul II. In Centesimus Annus, the Pope views the free market as the most efficient instrument for utilizing resources and effectively responding to needs, explains the moral foundations of the market economy, and repudiates the idea of a third way between capitalism and socialism.
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Novak’s earlier works, especially The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, had a major influence on Pope John Paul II who at one time had advocated a modified form of socialism and who now has endorsed the market economy. Novak’s goal in writing The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism was to show that capitalism is compatible with Catholicism.
Younkins claims (without evidence) that John Paul II was actually influenced by and actually received positively Novak’s writings and ideas. Novak, not going quite as far as claiming to have influenced the Pope (but certainly not excluding the possibility), sees his own ideas reflected in Centesimus Annus. What we have then is a widely circulating notion that Michael Novak’s ideas have impacted official Catholic social teaching and have, in a tangible way, altered and developed that teaching.
We are not dealing with the question of mere compatibility between Novak’s thought and that of Pope John Paul II, but of an actual congruency, harmony and mutual fecundity. Perhaps this question can serve to not only reorient the discussion at Vox Nova, but can encourage a fuller, more impartial reading of Novak’s texts and those of John Paul II. Expect much more from me in the future.
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