Michael Novak - Definition and Overview

Michael Novak (born 1933) is a conservative Roman Catholic American philosopher and diplomat. He writes on capitalism, religion, and the politics of democratization.

He served as U.S. chief ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1981 and also as the ambassador the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Novak is currently George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.

Novak is a frequent contributor to magazines and journals including First Things and National Review.

Novak was born in 1933 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He earned an M.A. in history and philosophy of religion from Harvard University.

Novak is also a board member of the Capital Research Center and the Center of the American Experiment.

Recent Works

• Civilian Casualties & Turmoil (http://www.nationalreview.com/novak/novak.asp), in which Novak lays out his support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
• Israel! O Israel! (http://www.nationalreview.com/novak/novak051302.asp), in which Novak accuses Arab states of maintaining Palestinian refugee camps solely to embarrass Israel