The Economic Religion of Michael Novak: Wealth Creation vs. the Gospel, as in Using Catholicism to Prop up Neoconservatism by Mark and Louise Zwick [page 1 of 3]
There has been tremendous interest in the March April 1999 issue of the Houston Catholic Worker on Pope John Paul II's condemnation of neoliberalism in Ecclesia in America, not to mention those who were so excited to discover the document itself in all its richness. Most of our readers understood clearly that neoliberalism, the current economic system hurting the people of Latin America so badly (as well as Eastern Europe, Africa and much of Asia) was condemned. But many asked again, what is the exact connection between the Catholic thinkers we mentioned as representative of this neoliberalism? Is neoliberalism really the same as neoconservatism? Some neo-conservatives have been trying to disassociate themselves from the word. Advocate of Condemned Economics Helps Dedicate Catholic Business Center Recently, Michael Novak came to help dedicate the Business Ethics program of our local Catholic university. One Catholic Worker sarcastically remarked that having Michael Novak, along with heads of oil companies and investment firms, dedicate a Catholic business ethics department and explain ethical business practices is like inviting Hugh Hefner to dedicate an institute on the sacrament of marriage. Another CW wondered about whether this comment might be uncharitable. The conclusion was that the truth of the reailty in our world obligated us to speak in truth and solidarity with the cry of the millions of poor people who suffer so much from neoconservative/neoliberal policies, representatives of whom arrive daily at Casa Juan Diego. Corporate Governance The conference in which Michael Novak helped to dedicate the new Business Ethics Center at the University of St. Thomas was called "On Corporate Governance." Novak published a small book with this title in 1997, funded by the Pfizer Corporation and published by the American Enterprise Institute. It is available in its entirety on the Internet. In what in the preface he calls a theology of the corporation, Novak combatively takes on those who want to "humanize" the corporation, that "tiny minority of publicly owned firms" which "produce more than half of America's economic output." We read this supposed theology and ethics of corporate governance from cover to cover. It was impossible to find even the slightest echo of the Gospel or of the great teachings of the Popes of the last century in the book. Here Novak mocks what he calls the former socialists and even plain "progressives" who want to "lasso" the corporation, "break its spirit," "tame the business corporation, make it sit up and dance, perhaps do tricks to music." He has special condemnation for environmentalists and those concerned with children's rights and mentions that some corporate leaders are still being "rolled, played for patsies" by these people. Never in On Corporate Governance: the Corporation as It Ought to Be does Novak mention the problem of slave labor of children throughout the Third World in the factories of these corporations or the problems of environmental destruction. Perhaps he did not realize that Pope John Paul II, in whose name he so often speaks, has insisted more than any Pope before him on the need to protect creation (Centesimus Annus 37ff.), that it is inadmissible that a privileged minority waste resources destined for all. In Novak's chapter on "Appeasement," his business ethics becomes clear. While it may be wrong for a CEO to be concerned about environment and children, it is explicitly "wrong today for executives to conceive of their job narrowly, merely in its business aspects, without paying attention to its political setting, and even more so, to its setting in the world of ideas." Above all, executives must never give in to pressure and respond in "appeasement" as the sad CEO did, who actually agreed to broaden "stock-option participation to unite the investment interests of workers with those of the corporation, open up paths of decentralized entrepreneurship for employees (p. 27-28). Novak's presentation of the "The Corporation as it Ought to Be" might have been a textbook on economics written by Machiavelli. He goes to great lengths to explain why there should have been no checks and balances on the power of a CEO. Power is what he most needs to do his job and power he must have: "Executives must be allowed to execute…They must be propelled to step forward to create wealth." The Green Worm of Envy Whereas the older version has it that the poor are lazy, Novak claims that they are "envious" of the successful. He writes, "Envy never speaks its own name; rather, it hides behind such names as equality, fairness, and even (alas) social justice." (Thomas Rourke, A Conscience as Large as the World: Yves Simon versus the Catholic Neoconservatives, Rowman and Littlefield, 1997, p. 242). In response to those who wonder about the terrible economic discrepancies in our society and in our world, Novak responds in On Corporate Governance in the same way that he does in several other books-he brings out the "green worm of envy." Here he comes again with that phrase: "Envy never travels under its own name; it prefers prettier names, good names to which it has no right: "justice," "fairness," and the like." (p. 25) The immigrants who come to us each day, casualties of Novak's economic policies, are not envious. They are in despair. The Problem The problem with Michael Novak and fellow neoconservatives George Weigel, Fr. John Neuhaus and Fr. Robert Sirico is this: They use Catholicism as window dressing to promote an economic system based solely on self-interest, a system that has nothing to do with the Gospel or Catholic social teaching. They replace the heart of Catholicism with Adam Smith and Max Weber (virtue comes to society only through self-interest; the Gospel is a private affair). These men have spent the last twenty years promoting the neoliberal approach to economics that is condemned by John Paul II in Ecclesia in America. Their attempts to separate themselves from the neoliberal tragedy in the Third World fly in the face of the facts. Michael Novak, for example, along with the others, traveled extensively to Latin America and Eastern Europe during these years promoting this ideology in the name of the Church. Those who created this devastating economic reality must take some responsibility for what they have wrought. A Little History At the time when there was a great struggle over making the world free for democracy and capitalism, as opposed to Communism, Pope John Paul II played an important role. It was a terrific struggle. Catholic neoconservatives also tried to play some role in this struggle. Michael Novak worked with the administrations of several presidents, including Carter, Ford and Reagan. While this worldwide struggle for freedom and democracy was going on, a revolution in capitalist economics was also going on. Capitalism in the United States has taken several forms over the last two centuries. The economic brutality of some of the robber barons of the nineteenth century, where workers were treated like chattel, was softened by a necessary reaction to the crisis of the Great Depression of the '30's. The U. S. government then took a stronger role in economics for the protection of the weak. There was even discussion of such radical ideas as that everyone might have a job. This did not happen. (James K. Galbraith, Created Unequal: the Crisis in American Pay, The Free Press, 1998). With later crises in inflation, a model called neoconservatism developed which was a change from the laisssez-faire capitalism of the 19th century. The new model is not laissez-faire-do whatever you want as a capitalist in perfect freedom-but government-protected economics for big business. It doesn't work so well for small business. This model promises that the wealth of the few will trickle down to the poor. Somehow, neoconservatives say, anyone who suggests other nuances in capitalism, for the benefit of the poor and the weak, is a socialist or Communist. The authors of this article, like Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, do not favor "big government," but do favor a more just economic system. In order to popularize this economics, Catholic neocon-servatives advocated it in the name of John Paul II, even though their inspiration came instead from Adam Smith. They began to speak of wealth creation as a participation in the work of the Creator, as a participation in the eternal life of God (Michael Novak, Este hemisferio de libertad [This Hemisphere of Liberty], p. 61). The theme of creativity as a participation in the creation of God comes from John Paul II, it is true. However in the Pope's writings there are always three qualifiers which are missing from the neoconservative's comments: 1) The Holy Father insists that this creativity must be related in every case and each step of the way to the eternal plan of the Father. (See David L. Schindler, Heart of the World, Center of the Church), Eerdman's 1996) 2) Each papal document emphasizes that this creativity is for all workers, not just CEO's and that labor has priority over capital in creative work 3) this idea is related to the paschal mystery in Christ (See John Paul II's Encyclical Laborem Exercens). The level to which this concept, presented outside its Christian context, has been misunderstood, is reflected in the quotes of Guy Kawasaki, former "chief evangelist" for Apple Computer, who writes a column in Forbes magazine. He describes the role of a CEO as one who can "create like a god, command like a king, and work like a slave." What is Neoliberalism? A review of Catholic neoconservatives' economic writings reveal several key points upon which they insist: Profit-making and wealth creation are the essence of democracy. Neoconservative (neoliberal) economics requires democracy and democracy requires neoconservative economics. Milton Friedman, of the University of Chicago, not a Catholic, but closely associated with Michael Novak in the development of economics in Latin America, redefines democracy. He has gone so far as to say that any government that pursues antimarket policies is being undemocratic, even if the people support the government's policies. (See his Capitalism and Freedom). Government protection of the weak and vulnerable must be replaced with government protection of corporations. Government must nurture market economics rather than schools, families and medical care and food for local people. This is the best way to promote economic growth. The common good is redefined to mean only the private good of individuals based on self-interest, which someday may trickle down to the poor. According to Novak, in our complex world, it is impossible to know what the common good might be; therefore the solution is to work for one's own self-interest and someday that will help everyone. (See Michael Novak, Free Persons and the Common Good, 1989). New Theology, New Religion? Novak seems to believe that we have to abandon Catholicism as we know it. He actually says in The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism (published by the American Enterprise Institute), that "Democratic capitalism calls forth not only a new theology, but a new type of religion" (p. 69). This new religion, as defined by neoconservatives, emphasizes wealth creation, which they say the Catholic Church has neglected for so long. George Weigel seems to try to turn the Gospel upside down in his chapter, "Camels and Needles, Talents and Treasure: American Catholicism and the Capitalist Ethics," in Peter Berger, ed., The Capitalist Spirit: Toward a Religious Ethic of Wealth Creation, (ICS Press, 1990. He demands to know what the leadership of the Church are doing "that could be construed as a moral, theological, and spiritual legitimation of efforts to create wealth." The authors of this article prefer the religion of the Gospels and the Tradition of the Church founded by Jesus himself. As one of our poor immigrant guests, an older man named Bonifacio who can hardly hear, expressed it the other day when people from some "new" religions tried to proselytize him: "I don't want anything to do with a religion started by a gringo. I believe in the Church started by the Lord Jesus Christ. (We recommend Bonifacio, a good worker, to a parish who might need a responsible custodian). Novak's "new religion" is really quite different from John Paul II's Ecclesia in America: Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: Conversion, Communion and Solidarity as the basis for all of life instead of wealth creation (January 1999). Novak may have been successful in his evangelization of people who see the Kingdom as made up of people getting wealthy, (even though he always qualifies his neoconservatism as being just short of the Reign of God, not the fullness). It is true that wealth has been created and accumulated since Novak and company began presenting these economics in the name of John Paul II. The U.N. Development Program found that the assets of the world's 358 billionaires exceeded the combined income of countries with 45% of the world's people The economic system where all the monies go to a few and where almost everything is controlled by "anonymous" capital (banks, foundations, university endowments, etc., rather than persons) may properly be labelled "Marie Antoniette" capitalism: Let them create wealth! (Jeff Gates, The Ownership Solution Addison Wesley, 1998, p. 23). What has resulted from the policies of neoconservatism/neo When a tiny fraction of citizens (1/4 of 1% of the people) make almost the sum total of political contributions, one cannot expect the poor worker to be favored over the corporation. What is Capitalism? Perhaps some of our readers thought that capitalism meant a system of
markets, private property and profit for your business. That is absolutely
not capitalism, says Novak.  |
