Former Bush speech writer Michael Gerson seems to be offering for our admiration the fact that President Bush’s domestic policy owes more to Roman Catholic social thought than to Friedrich Hayek, as he puts it. But why should Americans be glad of this? Roman Catholic social thought has many beautiful elements, but grew mainly out of Europe and helped lay the groundwork for socialism in some European countries. An argument could be made that socialism fits better with Europe’s character and historical experience of feudalism and greater communal identity. But America has always been defined by a greater element of individualism. This has not precluded some socialized programs, but always in dialogue — sometimes heated dialogue — with the original understanding of individual effort. This is part of what Harvard professor Samuel Huntington means in arguing that America has an Anglo-Protestant character.