Writing in the Wall Street Journal this morning, Glenn Yago and Don McCarthy point out that one key Western value is already on the rise in the Middle East: Capitalism.

“The end of Saddam’s regime sent a major, unconfused market signal after the West’s years of disinterest in the Middle East as a Levantine backwater. Subsequently, every major capital market index in the Middle East has risen.

Regionally, stock markets rose over 30% in 2004 and represent a market capitalization of $470 billion…The main Egyptian equity index has increased 165%, while that of Saudi Arabia has gone up by 158%…Israel’s leading index has risen by 32%, the benchmark index of Kuwait’s exchange by 73%, Jordan’s by almost 60%, and that of the United Arab Emirates by 110%.”

They also note that, for years the Mideast has attracted less than 1% of foreign direct investment, but since Saddam’s fall they project a jump in FDI of 76% to more than $11 billion.

Just ask Michael Novak: Where capitalism goes, democracy will assuredly follow.