The American Prospect Moves to Cambridge

With a picture of John F. Kennedy '40 on the wall and a program for universal health insurance in hand,The American Prospect seems to comfortable in its new home at the hub of American liberalism.

The two year old scholarly political quarterly--formerly based in Princeton N.J.--celebrated the grand opening of its new Mt. Auburn Street headquarters yesterday.

The journal, which its founders say seeks to "reclaim the liberal dialogue," opened its Cambridge doors less than a decade after its predecessor, Working Papers, folded. That publication operated in a building across the street from the new offices.

Many members of the former staff of the old magazine reunited to create The American Prospect in spring 1990 under the direction Kennedy School Lecturer in Public Policy Robert B. Reich, journalist Robert Kuttner and Princeton University Professor of EconomicsPaul Starr.

The quarterly published its first issue thatspring and has a nationwide circulation of morethan 10,000 according to Business Editor ChristineE. Franke.

Kuttner said that the decision to move themagazine's offices from Princeton to Cambridge wasa result of starr's increase teaching load nextyear and a shift of the managerial burden fromReich to Kuttner.

Kuttner, formerly of The New Republic,said the Prospect targets a seriousreadership and has solicited stories from some ofthe country's foremost liberal scholars, includingProfessor of Economics John Kenneth Galbraith,historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. andsociologist William Julius Wilson.

Although its founders agree that the magazinedoes not have a political agenda, Kuttner said theProspect supports an "interventionist viewof American liberalism."

"The magazine [is concerned with] how to shapea liberal politics that serves a lot of theclassic concerns of social justice and brings intoissue the middle class which has grown distrustful[of liberalism]," Starr said.

Starr said the magazine has succeeded inwinning a loyal readership and influencing policydebate.

"It's terribly difficult to overcome thepresumption that the world doesn't need anothermagazine," Starr said.

"But a lot of people identify with the purposeof the magazine, which is to promote freshthinking."

Though not affiliated with Harvard officially.The Prospect had links to the Universitythrough the involvement of both faculty andstudents in its production.

The magazine tries to employ at least twointerns at all times, Kuttner said

The quarterly published its first issue thatspring and has a nationwide circulation of morethan 10,000 according to Business Editor ChristineE. Franke.

Kuttner said that the decision to move themagazine's offices from Princeton to Cambridge wasa result of starr's increase teaching load nextyear and a shift of the managerial burden fromReich to Kuttner.

Kuttner, formerly of The New Republic,said the Prospect targets a seriousreadership and has solicited stories from some ofthe country's foremost liberal scholars, includingProfessor of Economics John Kenneth Galbraith,historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. andsociologist William Julius Wilson.

Although its founders agree that the magazinedoes not have a political agenda, Kuttner said theProspect supports an "interventionist viewof American liberalism."

"The magazine [is concerned with] how to shapea liberal politics that serves a lot of theclassic concerns of social justice and brings intoissue the middle class which has grown distrustful[of liberalism]," Starr said.

Starr said the magazine has succeeded inwinning a loyal readership and influencing policydebate.

"It's terribly difficult to overcome thepresumption that the world doesn't need anothermagazine," Starr said.

"But a lot of people identify with the purposeof the magazine, which is to promote freshthinking."

Though not affiliated with Harvard officially.The Prospect had links to the Universitythrough the involvement of both faculty andstudents in its production.

The magazine tries to employ at least twointerns at all times, Kuttner said