10 Famous Figures and the Left: Who Was Actually Communist?
Updated: 59 minutes ago
What the original version got wrong
Correction: The earlier headline and article described ten well-known people as communists, but several were not members of a communist party and some were not shown to hold communist beliefs at all. This revised version distinguishes documented party membership from socialism, Marxist influence, left-wing activism, and association with communist movements.
For a related list of influential political figures, read the companion article.
Ten figures, ten different relationships to the left
Albert Einstein — A democratic socialist, not a communist-party member. His 1949 essay “Why Socialism?” criticized capitalism and argued for a socialist economy while warning against unchecked centralized power.
Charlie Chaplin — His films criticized mechanization and social inequality, but he explicitly said he was not a communist. In 1952 the U.S. government revoked his re-entry permit while he was abroad amid anti-communist pressure.
Malala Yousafzai — A campaigner for girls’ education. The old article supplied no evidence that she was a socialist or communist; we withdraw that characterization.
Pablo Picasso — Joined the French Communist Party in 1944 and used his international platform to oppose fascism and war.
Frida Kahlo — Was affiliated with the Mexican Communist Party and engaged in left-wing politics, alongside her work as an artist.
George Bernard Shaw — A Fabian socialist who helped build a gradualist socialist movement in Britain. Fabian socialism is not the same as membership in a communist party.
Angela Davis — Became a leader in the Communist Party USA in the 1960s and left the party in 1991. She is also a scholar and activist against racism and prisons.
Paul Robeson — A civil-rights activist and artist who defended left-wing causes and refused to answer the House Un-American Activities Committee’s question about Communist Party membership. The article should not convert that refusal into proof of membership.
Jean-Paul Sartre — A Marxist and left-wing intellectual, but not a member of the French Communist Party. His relationship with communist politics changed over time and included sharp criticism of Soviet actions.
Nelson Mandela — Worked closely with communists in the anti-apartheid struggle. Whether he formally belonged to the South African Communist Party has been disputed by scholars and contradicted by Mandela’s own denials; the original article stated membership as settled fact without acknowledging that debate.
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