If yer wonderin', this magazine was founded by NY intellectuals

The New York Intellectuals were a group of American writers and literary critics based in New York City in the mid-20th century. They advocated left-wing politics but were also firmly anti-Stalinist. The group is known for having sought to integrate literary theory with Marxism and socialism while rejecting Soviet socialism as a workable or acceptable political model.

So, basically, classical anti-AES socialist magazine...

I always have to point this out, the first time I checked out Dissent Magazine, their main article was about the downfall of the Eastern Bloc. It was about the privileges the apparatchiks had, and how they sent their kids to elite universities in the West. I was not familiar with the author, so I googled her name. The fist hit from google was her page on the NED website... Yeah it was the last time I checked out Dissent Magazine

Dissent against bad country 1984, of course.