RIPENSARE IL LIBERALISMO: GLI EMENDAMENTI WHIG DI MICHAEL NOVAK

This paper analyses a speech given by the American theologian, philosopher, political scientist and economist Michael Novak in June 1997 at the first international conference of the “Amici di Liberal” foundation, which took place in Naples and had as its theme “Liberalism in the 21st Century”. The text of the speech was published in Italy not only in the conference proceedings, but also in two important collections of essays by the American thinker, Spezzare le catene della povertà (2000) and Coltivare la libertà. Riflessioni sull’ecologia morale (2005). At its core is the proposal for a rethinking of the classical notion of liberalism in light of what Novak calls the “Whig” tradition, which, having developed especially in the context of American philosophical and political thought, he traces back to Thomas Aquinas, citing a statement by Lord Acton. The author addresses the theoretical and practical shortcomings of the classical liberal conception of liberty by advancing seven “Whig amendments” that he believes can make it more adequate to the challenges of the new century and the new millennium. After outlining the features of Novak’s Whig idea of liberty and reviewing the amendments he proposes, the essay focuses primarily on those concerning the relationship between liberalism and community and between liberalism and religious faith, the most innovative compared to a certain historically established version of liberal thought that associates it with individualistic and anti-religious ideals. In reconstructing this debate, the paper also takes into account other voices that Novak himself invokes ascribing to the Whig tradition of thought, such as those of Alexis de Tocqueville, Friedrich August von Hayek, and Pope John Paul II. More than a quarter of a century later, when “liberalism in the 21st century” seems to be experiencing a profound crisis, Novak’s intervention suggests the coordinates for a possible reform of the liberal paradigm and therefore of the principles that inform the political, economic, and ethical-cultural system he has called Democratic Capitalism.