The Moral Case for Reaganomics

On economic matters, the thinking of the Left and the Right is not symmetrical. The Right tends to think in economic terms, the Left in moral terms. Thus President Reagan’s economic policies have been attacked from the Left primarily on the grounds that they are “unfair”—that is, immoral.

Yet it seems that the moral case for President Reagan’s policies is overwhelming. Certainly, their intention is moral: to reduce inflation; to create jobs; to rebuild the nation’s economic base for future prosperity; and to give individuals at every economic level incentives to work, to prosper, to invest, and to invent.

About the Author

Michael Novak

Michael Novak was a Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat.

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On economic matters, the thinking of the Left and the Right is not symmetrical. The Right tends to think in economic terms, the Left in moral terms. Thus President Reagan’s economic policies have been attacked from the Left primarily on the grounds that they are “unfair”—that is, immoral.

Yet it seems that the moral case for President Reagan’s policies is overwhelming. Certainly, their intention is moral: to reduce inflation; to create jobs; to rebuild the nation’s economic base for future prosperity; and to give individuals at every economic level incentives to work, to prosper, to invest, and to invent.