BOOK REVIEW : Moral Compass for the New Capitalism : DOING WELL & DOING GOOD: The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist <i> by Richard John Neuhaus</i> ; Doubleday, $22; 312 pages

Now that the Soviet model of socialism has collapsed, is there any alternative to a free enterprise system in which the hungry and the homeless live on the streets and alienated youth make war on each other?

“It is unacceptable to say that the defeat of ‘real’ socialism leaves capitalism as the only model of economic organization,” answers Pope John Paul II in his 1991 encyclical, “Centesimus Annus” (“The Hundredth Year”), a stirring call for the moral renewal of the capitalist world. “The alternative (is) a society of free work, of enterprise, and of participation.”

John Paul II’s encyclical provides the text for an extended sermon by Father Richard John Neuhaus in “Doing Good & Doing Well.” His book may be approached as an apologetic in the traditional sense--the formal defense of a certain variant of Catholic social gospel--but Neuhaus keeps his feet planted on the ecumenical earth while pointing toward the loftiest ideals of Christian virtue.

“The challenge before us now is how to make what John Paul calls ‘the new capitalism’ . . . work better, especially for the poor and marginalized,” writes Neuhaus, a Catholic commentator most comfortable in neoconservative circles. “In other words, the challenge is to make democratic capitalism more genuinely democratic.”

Neuhaus presents the encyclical as not less than a moral compass for right living within the context of what he calls “post-modern” capitalism.

“In terms of details of how a modern economy should work, the Bible has as much to say as it has to say about engineering airplanes,” he writes. “The Bible has everything to say, however, about the ends and goals of an economic order. And the actual workings of the economy can at every point be subjected to the scrutiny of biblical teaching and of the entire Christian tradition.”

The particular version of the social gospel that Neuhaus embraces does not condemn the getting of money. Indeed, he likens the Christian capitalist to the young priest who expressed his devotion to the Blessed Virgin by doing the only thing he knew how to do well--juggling. “The only thing some people know how to do really well is make money,” Neuhaus says. “It is not an unworthy thing to offer up.”

What counts, Neuhaus seems to suggest, are the good intentions and good works of the Christian who goes about the business of making money. “God loveth adverbs,” writes Neuhaus. “We are to take care of business conscientiously, fairly, honestly, lovingly, and, yes, even prayerfully.”

Neuhaus concedes that both his book and the papal encyclical are “long on ideas and short on ways to implement those ideas,” and he even cracks a little theological joke: “Perhaps I will be forgiven if I do not apologize for it.” But Neuhaus insists that the fine points of living a righteous life, not to mention the mechanics of public policy, are less important than their fundamental moral design.

“Like the biblical prophets, John Paul calls for justice to roll down like mighty waters,” writes Neuhaus, “but he does not take it upon himself to prescribe the irrigation system.”

So we are left to wonder what exactly is meant by the call to “the acting person in community” to serve the goals of “free work, enterprise and participation.” Is it volunteerism? Corporate tithing? Government welfare programs?

Neuhaus concedes that some readers may conclude that the Pope is merely hoping for “a much nicer world” or attempting to “make the friends of capitalism feel comfortable.” But he insists we are being called upon by the Pope to “think more clearly about our responsibilities for property, enterprise and the plight of the poor.”

Despite its ecumenical tone, “Doing Well & Doing Good” is specifically and unabashedly Christian in its moral vocabulary. “The most elementary Christian confession of faith is ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’ ” writes Neuhaus. “He is lord of all, or he is lord not at all. He is lord also of the marketplace.”

But the essential message has something to say to every “acting, thinking, creating person” who feels a tug of conscience at the sight of a homeless family.

If the book provokes us to act on that moral impulse in our day-to-day lives, then Neuhaus will have succeeded on his own terms. But there’s a danger, too, that the message of “Doing Well & Doing Good” may turn out to be rather too ambiguous to afflict the comfortable or comfort the afflicted.