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The Economist

From RationalWiki - Reading time: 4 min
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“”As a longtime reader of The Economist, let me just say that in the past six years I have come to the conclusion that in five important issue areas--U.S. politics, U.S. economics, finance (U.S. and global), Middle Eastern politics, and African politics — anything The Economist states that I did not already know is likely to be wrong... And it's the reason I pay much more attention these days to the Financial Times.
—Brad DeLong[1]

The Economist is a British magazine, founded in 1843, that covers business, world politics, science, and technology. Their editorial stance is (traditional sense of) centrist-liberal, advocating free markets, a social safety net, and personal freedom. They favor globalization, free trade, and increased spending on healthcare and education, as well as drug legalization[2] and gay marriage. Historically, they have endorsed both Republicans and Democrats in US elections, as well as Tories, Liberal Democrats, and Labourites in UK elections.

The magazine is one of the most respected in the world of its kind, claiming the readership of many influential policy-makers and executives.[note 1]

Hmm[edit]

“”In the 1860s, The Economist stood nearly alone among liberal opinion in Britain in supporting the Confederacy against the Union, all in the name of access to cheap Southern “Blood Cotton” and fear of higher tariffs if the North triumphed. “The Economist was unusual,” writes an historian of English public opinion at the time; “Other journals still regarded slavery as a greater evil than restrictive trade practices.”
—The Nation, "The Economist has a slavery problem"[7]

Criticisms[edit]

The Economist is intended for a highbrow, well-educated, upper-class audience, and it shows. Most of its writers (who don't attach their names to articles, but rather hide behind pseudonyms or don't give a name at all) are graduates of Oxbridge (including young and fresh ones). Because of its serious tone, readers may be deceived into thinking they must be experienced and distinguished journalists. Therefore, the magazine steers clear of vulgar libertarianism, but tends towards espousing free markets and privatization as a solution to almost every problem. Having said that, The Economist staff are by no means free-market fundamentalists; they just have a strong bias towards market solutions, though they also support state intervention for some things (like healthcare). On foreign policy, they have a mixed record and notoriously were chickenhawks when it came to the Iraq War, a position they later regretted.

Despite all this, their highly liberal positions on social policies and rational opinions when it comes to science mean a left-leaning reader can peruse the magazine without their head exploding. Indeed, the magazine, oddly enough, has a small cult following among radical leftists, much like Al Jazeera America does.

The Economist hates political correctness so much that they despise gender-neutral language and characterized the word "humankind" as part of the "ugly expressions of PC culture".[8]

Although previously it published articles that were sympathetic to transgender people,[9][10][11] the magazine has at times been transphobic.[12] The rough turning point in their overall tendency on the issue appears to have been former editor Helen Joyce's (see: Helen Joyce § anti-trans punditry) 2018 "series of invited essays", during which The Economist published opinions from both sides albeit slightly unequally (five more pro-trans, eight more anti-trans).[13][14] This "Lexington" left The Economist around 2022–2023, but you can still occasionally find headlines like "Trans ideology is distorting the training of America's doctors" in the magazine.[15]

"We'll all go together when we go."[edit]

“”We will all go together when we go

All suffuse with an incandescent glow
No one will have the endurance to collect on his insurance

Lloyd's of London will be loaded when they go
—Tom Lehrer's "We Will All Go Together When We Go"[16]

The Economist in 2023, suddenly panicking about the possibility of World War III with the onset a major war between Israel and Gaza (Palestine) during the time of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, came up with the obliviously-titled article "What a third world war would mean for investors". The article offered historical advice on investing opportunities prior to World Wars I and II, but concluded, "Today there is a greater and more terrible source of uncertainty, since many of the potential belligerent powers wield nuclear weapons. Yet in a sense, this has little financial relevance, since in a nuclear conflagration your portfolio’s performance would be unlikely to rank highly among your priorities."[17]

External links[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ In the past, the comments section of the website was packed with lots of Internet wingnuts, supporting what The Economist wrote on one article and opposing what they wrote on the other. Naturally, many of the commenters hated The Economist for being too moderate. Fortunately, like many websites, The Economist noted the low quality of the vast majority of the commentators, and eliminated comments when the site was redesigned between 2017 and 2019.[3][4][5][6]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2007/03/cringing_and_wh.html
  2. ↑ (October 12, 2022). "Joe Biden is too timid. It is time to legalise cocaine". The Economist.
  3. ↑ "The debasing of American politics", Economist, 2016 October 15, archived on 2016 October 15
  4. ↑ "The debasing of American politics", Economist, 2016 October 15, archived on 2018 June 17
  5. ↑ "Help us shape the future of comments on economist.com", Denise Law, The Economist, 2017 Jan 10
  6. ↑ "The Economist's new website", Economist, 2019 September 15, archived on 2023 March 11
  7. ↑ Grandin, Greg, "'The Economist' has a slavery problem", 9 September 2014.
  8. ↑ The Economist's Style Guide to Political Correctness
  9. ↑ (June 5, 2018). "Malta leads the way for gay and transgender rights in Europe". The Economist.
  10. ↑ (July 27, 2017). "Donald Trump’s ill-considered ban on transgender soldiers". The Economist.
  11. ↑ (September 1, 2017). "Why transgender people are being sterilised in some European countries". The Economist.
  12. ↑ Trudy Ring (July 29, 2021). "Respected News Magazine The Economist Publishes Anti-Trans Screed". The Advocate.
  13. ↑ Nico Lang (March 26, 2019). "Editor’s history of calling trans people ‘frauds’ shines light on Economist’s transphobic tweet". The Daily Dot.
  14. ↑ Helen Joyce (June 29, 2018). "Transgender identities: a series of invited essays". The Economist.
  15. ↑ (January 8, 2022). "Trans ideology is distorting the training of America’s doctors". The Economist.
  16. ↑ We'll all go together when we go by Tom Lehrer, YouTube.
  17. ↑ What a third world war would mean for investors: Global conflicts have a habit of sneaking up on money-managers (Oct 30th 2023) The Economist.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/The_Economist
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