The Monthly Review Story: 1949-1984
BY ROBERT McCHESNEY
PAUL SWEEZY, FOUNDER OF MONTHLY REVIEW
I wrote this as a paper for a seminar in history during my first year of grad school at the University of Washington in 1984. It was a labor of love for me because it gave me an opportunity to read every single issue of Monthly Review, all of which were carefully kept in bound volumes in the magnificent UW library. I was so influenced by MR coming of age in the early and middle 1970s that I wanted to understand what sort of institution and culture could produce so much wisdom and brilliance . . . and I wanted to read all the issues from the 50s and 60s I had never seen before. I never imagined anyone would ever read it aside from my professor, Robert Burke.
For the heck of it, I sent a copy to my best friend, John Bellamy “Duke” Foster, who by then was already a periodic contributor to MR. Duke liked it and shared it with MR coeditor Paul Sweezy, who I gather also liked it. Shortly thereafter, Duke mentioned to Paul that he had been approached by Verso to write a combination authorized biography of Paul and history of Monthly Review. Duke told him it would do a good deal to expand the MR legacy. Paul’s reply: “Don’t waste your time. Leave that to someone else. You have more important work to do.” Harry Magdoff, the other MR coeditor, concurred. It is fair to say that neither Paul nor Harry were publicity hounds, and that may account for the relative paucity of material on them and on MR. [Read more →]
