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Here is the first full-length biography of Herbert Croly (1869-1930), one of the major American social thinkers of the twentieth century. David W. Levy explains the origins and impact of Croly's penetrating analysis of American life and tells the story of a career that included his founding of one of the most influential journals of the period, The New Republic, in 1914 and his writing of The Promise of American Life (1909), a landmark in the history of American ideas. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
"The Promise of American Life" is a book by Herbert Croly that opposed aggressive unionization and supported economic planning to raise general quality of life in early twentieth-century America. It made a significant impact on many leading progressives, influencing Theodore Roosevelt to adopt the platform of "The New Nationalism" after reading it, and being popular with intellectuals and political leaders of the later "New Deal". Croly advocated a new political consensus that included as its core nationalism, but with a sense of social responsibility and care for the less fortunate. Since the power of big business, trusts, interest groups and economic specialization had transformed the nation in the latter part of the 19th century, Croly pressed for the centralization of power in the Federal Government to ensure democracy, a "New Nationalism".
Herbert David Croly (January 23, 186 - May 17, 1930) was an intellectual leader of the progressive movement as an editor, political philosopher and a co-founder of the magazine The New Republic in early twentieth-century America. His political philosophy influenced many leading progressives including Theodore Roosevelt, as well as his close friends Judge Learned Hand and Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. His book, The Promise of American Life (1909), looked to the conservative spirit of effective government as espoused by Alexander Hamilton, combined with the democracy of Thomas Jefferson. The book was one of the most influential books in American political history, shaping the ideas of many intellectuals and political leaders. It also influenced the later New Deal. Calling themselves "the new nationalists," Croly and Walter Weyl sought to remedy the relatively weak national institutions with a strong federal government. He actively promoted a strong army and navy and attacked pacifists who thought democracy at home and peace abroad was best served by keeping America weak.
The Promise of American Life is a book published by Herbert Croly, founder of The New Republic, in 1909. This book opposed aggressive unionization and supported economic planning to raise general quality of life. After reading this book, Theodore Roosevelt adopted the New Nationalism. The book is said to "offer a manifesto of Progressive beliefs" that "anticipated the transition from competitive to corporate capitalism and from limited government to the welfare state."
"A well-researched and pertinent discussion of one of American liberalism's most important exponents". -- Choice. "A concise, intelligent, and highly readable study. What is fresh and extremely valuable is the flesh that Stettner puts on the bones of the old generalization about Croly and liberalism. This is a worthy addition to the literature on this important and influential American thinker". -- American Historical Review.
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Croly explains the requirements for a genuinely popular system of representative government providing progressive liberalism with both a philosophical critique of the founding fathers' political outlook, and a political strategy for replacing it with something more in keeping with a new epoch. Although it was written in 1914, the intellectual structure remains largely intact within the liberal-progressive tradition.
In an era disgusted with politicians and the various instruments of "direct democracy," Walter Lippmann's The Phantom Public remains as relevant as ever. It reveals Lippmann at a time when he was most critical of the ills of American democracy. Antipopulist in sentiment, this volume defends elitism as a serious and distinctive intellectual option, one with considerable precursors in the American past. Lippmann's demythologized view of the American system of government resonates today. The Phantom Public discusses the "disenchanted man" who has become disillusioned not only with democracy, but also with reform. According to Lippmann, the average voter is incapable of governance; what is calle...
A penetrative study of democratic theory and the role of citizens in a democracy, this classic by a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner offers a prescient view of the media's function in shaping public perceptions.