The Communist. Vol. 11 No. 1. January, 1931.

Contents: To The Study of Lenin and Our Party by Alex Bittelman, The United Front Tactics in the Lawrence Strike by William Weinstone, The Struggle Against Unemployment and the Communist Way Out of the Crisis by Bill Dunne, Some Lessons of the Last Miners’ Strike by S. Willner, Leadership At the Bench by John Steuben, On the Theoretical Foundations of Marxism-Leninism by V. Adoratsky, Some Questions Relating to the History of Bolshevism by J. Stalin, The Irish Rebellion in 1916 by V.I. Lenin, Hegel – Hundredth Anniversary of the Death of Hegel by K.A. Wittfogel, The Increased Danger of War Against the U.S.S.R. and the Tasks of the Communists – Resolution of the Eleventh Plenum of the E.C.C.I.

There were a number of journals with this name in the history of the movement. This ‘The Communist’ was the main theoretical journal of the Communist Party from 1927 until 1944. Its origins lie with the folding of The Liberator, Soviet Russia Pictorial, and Labor Herald together into Workers Monthly as the new unified Communist Party’s official cultural and discussion magazine in November, 1924. Workers Monthly became The Communist in March ,1927 and was also published monthly. The Communist contains the most thorough archive of the Communist Party’s positions and thinking during its run. The New Masses became the main cultural vehicle for the CP and the Communist, though it began with with more vibrancy and discussion, became increasingly an organ of Comintern and CP program. Over its run the tagline went from “A Theoretical Magazine for the Discussion of Revolutionary Problems” to “A Magazine of the Theory and Practice of Marxism-Leninism” to “A Marxist Magazine Devoted to Advancement of Democratic Thought and Action.” The aesthetic of the journal also changed dramatically over its years. Editors included Earl Browder, Alex Bittelman, Max Bedacht, and Bertram D. Wolfe.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/communist/v11n01-jan-1932-communist.pdf