The Promise of Progressivism

Herbert Croly's Promise of American Life provides the theoretical foundations for many of America's twentieth-century political reform movements. Croly called for the adoption of Hamiltonian means to achieve Jeffersonian ends. To achieve this synthesis, however, Croly rejected Hamilton's arguments for institutional checks on a pure national democracy, and Jefferson's arguments for limited government. Croly rejected these elements in Hamilton's and Jefferson's thought because they are tied to the liberal doctrine of individual rights. Croly wanted to transcend the doctrine of individual rights in order to create a national political community—one that would be forged by a strong but democratic national government. However, Croly failed to see the connection between Jefferson's belief in democracy and his belief in limited government, and he failed to see the connection between Hamilton's belief in a strong national government and his call for institutional checks on democracy. Thus, although many American reform movements have their roots in the rhetoric of Croly's progressivism, to be effective they have had to accommodate the principles of liberal individualism that Croly wished to eradicate

Democracy · Doctrine · Individualism · Jeffersonian democracy · Law and economics · Liberalism · Political science · Politics · Progressivism · Rhetoric · Sociology · Theology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Philosophy · Public Administration

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