Lewis Corey

The Decline of American Capitalism Lewis Corey

Originally published in 1934 at the height of the Great Depression, Corey's The Decline of American Capitalism is an in-depth critique of the American government. The "Fall in the Rate of Profit," unemployment, and class disparities are a basis for a "New American Revolution," a shift from the current capitalist Democracy toward a new Socialist America. LEWIS COREY (1892-1953), originally Louis Fraina, was an Italian-born left-wing American political writer and activist. He worked and wrote for socialist newspapers on and off, becoming more and more radical as he was influenced by international communist leaders. He became the chairman for the Founding Convention of the Communist Party of America in 1919, traveling and working for the Communist Party until a disagreement with Communist International in 1921 forced him underground for a time. He emerged as Lewis Corey in 1926 as a liberal journalist, supporting the Communist, Marxist, and Democratic movements, respectively. In December of 1950, federal prosecutors attempted to deport him for illegal entry into the United States and for communism, but he died before the proceedings were completed.