Book Review: Novak – Will it Liberate?

Novak, Michael. Will it Liberate? (1991) Kindle Edition

Liberation theology was one of those things I heard about while growing up, but never understood what it was. Nailing hot tapioca pudding to a tree seemed easier than finding a clear definition of what this Latin American thing was. Well, it turns out that’s in part because the proponents of Liberation Theology didn’t agree among themselves precisely what it espoused, and their beliefs changed over time. Michael Novak’s book, the third in a series about theology and political economy, answers those questions and points out the flaws in the very premise of Liberation Theology. He also shows how Classical Liberalism is not, despite what its critics claimed, incompatible with a Christian life and a just and successful society.

Novak (1933-2017) was a student of Roman Catholic theology and economics, observing the tensions in the church over the Second Vatican Council (aka Vatican Two) and the disputes concerning how to respond to calls for social justice without supporting Marxism. One of the observations I found wryly amusing in Will it Liberate was the Latin American clerics proclaiming that Pope John Paul II and then-Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict) did not understand Marxism properly and were too European in their condemnation of Marx and Communism. Of all the people to have “street creds” to balk at trying to bring Marxism into Christian life, those two men would seem to have the best bona fides.

According to Novak, the problem the liberation theologians faced was trying to balance the materialistic and anti-Christian ideals of Marx with Christianity. Because the Latin American priests, monks, and nuns had never studied the ideas of the classical liberals such as Adam Smith, Jefferson, John Stewart Mill, Hayak, and other thinkers, they assumed that the statist, top-down economies of Latin America were capitalist, and that the worst of consumerism, greed, and corruption stemmed from US and European interventions in the rest of the world. Latin America’s elites, with help from the Yankees, had impoverished the people of South and Central America. Christian teachings demanded that people help those in need and provide justice. That Novak agrees with. However, some of the theologians went so far as to claim that armed revolution and the forced appropriation and redistribution of land and property were justified by the Scriptures and that the ends justified the means. Here Novak balks.

What Novak does is start by laying out the beliefs of the liberation theologians in their own words, summarizing some of their ideas. This is the most useful part of the book if you just want a quick synopsis of the main thinkers in the movement. Then he starts taking their arguments apart, comparing them to what Marx wrote and what the actual situation in Latin America was. More state control, Novak argues, will not help the poor and those in need. More room for innovation, for enterprise, less state rigidity and less state corruption are actually the cure for many of the real ills described by the theologians. Instead of the quasi-medieval top-down traditional economic system of the lands from Mexico south, classical liberalism and the rule of law, less government control over the economy, and more room for individual achievement. Not Marxism, but Smith and Mill, will uplift the poor and help bring down the haughty and corrupt.

The last third of the main text is an outline for a strong, doctrinally sound response to Liberation Theology and a sort of blue print for rebuilding society. Novak agrees that the US and Europe are perhaps too individualistic at the cost of community and family strength, too rich in material things and poor in cultural and spiritual goods. But Communism, and violent Marxism is not the answer or the cure.

Because the book was originally written in 1986, then updated in 1991, some of it reads out dated. The theologians Novak studied changed their tune a little as they watched and learned, and saw the horrible warning that developed in Nicaragua. As much as people hated Pinochet and other authoritarians, they didn’t want to be the next Guatemala, El Salvador, or Nicaragua, either. Novak spoke with one of the Liberation Theologians, and while they agreed to disagree, vehemently disagree, the men shared mutual respect and an awareness of the great need for change and improvement.

I recommend the book for those looking for information on what Liberation Theology was and is (because it has not gone away entirely), and those studying the history of that period in Latin America. It is also a good corrective to some of the arguments we hear now about how impoverished US culture is and how western civilization is just greed wrapped around nothing. Novak uses secular as well as Christian sources, and his notes and bibliography are a treasure trove.

I also recommend his later book, On Two Wings, where he argues that the United States was founded with two philosophies: classical liberalism and Christianity. You might disagree with his thesis, but it is a well-written and thoughtful book.

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my own use and received no remuneration from the publisher or the author’s estate.