Yesterday in my post on the moral case for conservative economics, I mentioned that a very wise political strategist I know wrote me and said that the person who “captures the moral critique (in addition to the intellectual one) of Obamanomics” will be the Republican Party’s nominee and the next president. In a follow-up note, he told me, “The way I’ve been putting it is, ‘whoever distills the essence of Michael Novak’s Spirit of Democratic Capitalism’ will win.”

That was, I thought, a very nice way of paying tribute to the man who, better than anyone I know, has articulated the moral case for democratic capitalism. Beyond that, Michael has been a significant influence on a whole generation of people (like me) who were well-disposed toward conservatism but wanted it placed in an ethical and moral context, and in a way that convinced us that it was not only consistent with human nature but also was the best way to ensure human flourishing. And in re-reading Michael’s many works in preparation for co-authoring (with AEI’s Arthur Brooks) Wealth & Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism, I was reminded of the power and elegance of his words, like these (from “A Closet Capitalist Confesses,” March 14, 1976):

Finally, I realized the socialism is not a political proposal, not an economic plan. Socialism is the residue of Judeo-Christian faith, without religion. It is a belief in community, the goodness of the human race and paradise on earth.

That’s when I discovered I was an incurable and inveterate, as well as secret, sinner. I believe in sin. I’m for capitalism, modified and made intelligent and public-spirited, because it makes the world free for sinners. It allows human beings to do pretty much what they will. Socialism is a system built on belief in human goodness, so it never works. Capitalism is a system built on belief in human selfishness; given checks and balances, it is nearly always a smashing, scandalous success. …

There is an innate tendency in socialism toward authoritarianism. Left to themselves all human beings won’t be good; most must be converted. Capitalism, accepting human sinfulness, rubs sinner against sinner, making even dry wood yield a spark of grace. …

The saintliness of socialism will not feed the poor. The United States may be, as many of you say, the worthless and despicable prodigal son among the nations. Just wait and see who gets the fatted calf.

As the political strategist I was corresponding with understood, what the rest of us do on the subject of democratic capitalism consists of a series of footnotes to Novak.