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2 Famous contributors 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 Resources 6 External Links |
The New Republic was founded by Herbert Croly and Walter Lippmann, who published the magazine's first issue on November 7, 1914. The magazine's politics were progressive, and as such concerned with coping the great changes brought about by America's late-19th Century industrialization. Among the most important of these was the emergence of the U.S. as a Great Power on the international scene, and in 1917 TNR urged America's entry into World War I on the side of the Allies.
An important by-product of World War I was the Russian Revolution, and during the inter-war years the magazine was generally positive in its assessment of the Soviet Union and its communist government. This changed with the start of the Cold War, though, as TNR moved towards positions more typical of mainstream American liberalism. During the 1950s it was critical of both Soviet foreign policy and domestic anti-communism, particularly McCarthyism. During the 1960s the magazine opposed the Vietnam War, but was also often critical of the New Left.
In 1975 the magazine was bought by Harvard lecturer Martin Peretz, who effected the transformation of TNR into its current incarnation. Peretz was a veteran of the New Left who had broken with that movement over its support of various Third World liberationist movements, particularly the PLO. Under Peretz TNR has advocated both strong U.S. support for Israel and a muscular U.S. foreign policy. During the 1980s the magazine generally supported President Reagan's anti-Communist foreign policy, including provision of aid to the Contras. It has also supported both Gulf Wars and, reflecting its belief in the moral efficacy of American power, intervention in "humanitarian" crises, such as those ongoing in Bosnia and Kosovo during Yugoslavia's 1990s break-up.
Domestically, TNR supports policies first associated with the Democratic Leadership Council and such "New Democrats" as former-President Bill Clinton. These policies, while seeking to achieve the ends of traditional social welfare programs, often use market solutions as their means, and so are often called "business-friendly". Typical of some of the policies supported by both TNR and the DLC during the 1990s were increased funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit program and reform of the Federal welfare system.
Given its support of a strong U.S. foreign policy, The New Republic is thus in this area a classically neoconservative magazine. However, overall, the stronger claim to that political designation is held by The Weekly Standard, which is edited by William Kristol, son of neo-conservative founding father Irving Kristol.
History
Famous contributors
Ordered by period and within period by name:1910s-1940s
1950s-1960s
1970s-1980s
1990s-present
Trivia
See also
Resources
External Links