Magazines: The Left, the Right, and the Libertarian

I am a magazine junkie, having about 70 magazine subscriptions on all different topics. Today, I thought I would survey the political spectrum of magazines for you. You can find them on the web if you want to subscribe to any.

The Left

The Nation: Founded in 1865, this is the oldest liberal magazine around, tends to be pretty far left/socialist. I remember that there was a big scandal when the published some excerpts of Gerald Ford's autobiography which covered his pardon of Nixon. Bit too far to the left for me.

The Progressive: Founded in 1909 by Senator Robert M LaFollette Sr., pretty far to the left also. A big news item with this publication is that they tried to publish an article on how to make an atomic bomb based on research done in the public library. Finally got to publish the article, now you can get the same information on the Internet. A little too far to the left for me.

The New Republic: Founded in 1914, the magazine tends to be center to left in orientation. This depends on the editor, Michael Kinsley was the editor, tended to be liberal, then Andrew Sullivan became the editor and moved more to the right. I had subscriptions previously to this magazine, and since John Stossel was recommending it in Reason, I decided to give it another try.

The Washington Monthly: Founded in 1969 by Charles Peter, a New Deal Democrat, this is a magazine for neoliberals and was the starting group for a lot of liberal political commentators. Peter tends to worship JFK and Camelot, and still tends to use that view to evaluate the current political scene. I find this magazine to be a tad out of touch.

Mother Jones: Founded in 1976 this is the most popular of the liberal publications based on circulation. I remember their big article on the tendency of Ford Pintos to exploded when rear ended that put them on the map. Also, I remember them hiring Michael Moore to be their editor and when he was fired, he sued and got a settlement which he used to finance Roger and Me. This is not a bad publication for the liberal view point.

In These Times: Also founded in 1976 is this socialist/liberal publication that comes out of Chicago. Again, a tad too far left for me.

The American Prospect: Founded in 1990, this magazine focuses on intellectual liberalism to counter a similar tide of conservatism that came out in the 1990's. Stossel also recommended this publication in Reason, so I will be checking it out once again. I used to read it years ago, cannot remember why I stopped.

Liberal Opinion Week: I do not know when this publication started, it is a weekly reprint of the liberal editorial writers that appear in the newspapers. Its sister publication is Conservative Chronicle. It is useful to get a diverse collection of opinions in one spot.

The Right

Human Events: Founded in 1944, this is the oldest conservative publication. Ronald Reagan was a regular reader and would sometimes based his decisions on what this publication was promoting. Never read this.

National Review: Founded by Willaim F. Buckley Jr. in 1955, this is the magazine of conservatism that inspired a lot of people. I like its balance in presenting its views and found it very useful to read. Another publication recommended by Stossel.

The American Spectator: Founded in 1967 by R. Emmett Tyrell Jr., this is an irrelevant and very funny magazine that pokes at liberals and their views. Clinton's Troopergate scandal was presented here, which lead to Paula Jones' 15 minutes of fame. A lot of folks hate this publication, I like it.

The Weekly Standard: This was started in 1995 and I never have read a copy of it. I know that Fred Barnes is published in this magazine, and it loses money.

The American Conservative: Founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell, and Taki Theodoracopulos. Buchanan has articles published but no longer runs the editorial side. I find the point of view to be too isolationist for my tastes.

Conservative Chronicle: Similar to Liberal Opinion Week, in that the leading conservative editorial writers are gathered together.

The Libertarian

Reason: Founded in 1968, this is the leading journal of libertarian thought and I as a libertarian find it very valuable. A great publication with lots of thought provoking articles.

Liberty: Founded in 1987, tends to be a tad too radical for my tastes but has some interesting libertarian perspectives.

These publications should be easy to find at Borders, Barnes and Noble, or in NYC, the UNS shops. Also, you can find websites for them all.

Oh well.