Herbert CrolyAt the turn of the 20th century, Herbert Croly – to the accelerating world – was a man without a name. Painfully shy and without many friends, he was admitted to Harvard in 1886 as one of 96 "special students" who would not be eligible for a degree. Perhaps the world should have realized that one day he would be counted on when he was assigned the former room of journalist William Randolph Hearst, who was kicked out of Harvard a year before Croly entered its rooms. But Croly remained on the sidelines during his long stay at Harvard, where he had to take care of more promising sons. However, when in 1909 Croly published his first and best-known book, The Promise of American Life, he was immediately recognized as a great political thinker. Eager to recognize him as one of its own, Harvard awarded him his bachelor's degree shortly after the enthusiastic reviews were published. Croly was born on January 23, 1869, and journalism was in his house, if not in his blood. His father, David Goodman Croly, immigrated to the United States from Ireland as a young boy and married Jane Cunningham, who traveled to the United States from England at age 12. Herbert Croly's mother wrote for several newspapers under the name Jennie June and was adamant. feminist. Likewise, his father worked for several New York newspapers and was an avid disciple of the French philosopher Auguste Comte, founder of sociology and positivism. In order to achieve progress, Comte created a religion of humanity that emphasized altruism and the destruction of organized religion. Comte's teachings changed the way Herbert Croly looked and approached life, but he did not devote himself to the religion of humanity. However, Croly's belief that bureaucrats are good people who should have enough power to improve the lives of their fellow citizens is consistent with Comte's teachings. Croly admitted that the death of Auguste Comte influenced the way he viewed living political systems. He wrote: “From my earliest years, he tried to teach me to understand and believe in the religion of Auguste Comte. Under such instruction, it was not strange that over time I instinctively fell into his mode of thinking. »1 Yet there is no doubt that Croly's positivism faded once he entered Harvard in 1886. He attended the school on and off, with the initial intention of becoming a professor of philosophy and taking classes with several notable professors, including William James, Josiah Royce and George Santayana..