Political Affairs Magazine

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Cover of August 2005 issue of Political Affairs Magazine.

Political Affairs Magazine is a monthly, Marxist publication. It aims to provide an analysis of events from a working class point of view. Political Affairs Magazine is a publication of the Communist Party USA. It was founded in 1944 upon the closure of its predecessor, The Communist, which was founded in 1924. Well-known editors of Political Affairs Magazine include Gus Hall, Hyman Lumer, Herbert Aptheker, and others. The current editor is Joe Sims, a son of an African American steelworker.

At its founding, Political Affairs was the theoretical organ of the Communist Party, USA, generally publishing articles intended almost exclusively for members of the Communist Party. In the late 1990s that role changed. With a deepening economic crisis in the US, a growing gap between the rich and poor, and attacks on working class institutions, such as the labor movement, and on democratic rights, from reproductive rights to civil rights, the leadership of the Communist Party, USA called for an all-peoples' struggle against the ultra right and its anti-worker agenda. It was in this climate of struggle that Political Affairs shed its role as an internal organ of the CPUSA and adopted a broader stance.

Currently it provides Marxist perspectives on many contemporary issues, engages in theoretical discussions relevant to Marxists, the working class and democratic movements. It does not, however, restrict itself to the views of a few CPUSA leaders or ideologists. Political Affairs analyzes issues and struggles relevant to the progressive-minded general public as a whole. In addition to articles devoted to national and international politics, readers can enjoy poetry, book reviews, occasional music and film reviews, quizzes, interviews, and occasional short stories.