Much more than Economics (The Economist)

Name: Duncan1

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Product:	The Economist
Date:	20/04/01 (171 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very well researched, accurate, well written.The last word on current affairs.

Disadvantages: Sligtly impersonal at times.

The Economist is a weekly news magazine (although my subscription tends arrive every two weeks). The Economist does have an economic bias; it is not that all its articles are on economics but rather that economists write all of its articles. At the Economist they have perfected the art of writing detailed, well-researched, impartial articles that are completely devoid of any emotion. The economist does not do human-interest stories; even the obituaries seem to be rather impersonal. (None of the reporter’s names are ever featured at the bottom of articles giving the impression that the economist is some separate entity. It seems quite right to say, "the Economist says" rather than "It has been written in the Economist".)

But this I think is its strongest point. It might rightly be called the social scientist. It covers all aspects of current affairs with the same critical voice. It examines the pros and con's of any action and gives its considered response. It examines statistics not anecdotal evidence. This allows the reader not only to trust the opinion in the Economist but also to examine each case on its own merits. Often it is very difficult to hold an unbiased opinion if the opinion is based on a very emotional article. This makes the economist the perfect counter foil to the tabloid press. Where a tabloid looks at individuals the Economist looks at Statistics, where the tabloid appeals to your emotion the economist appeals to your logic, where the tabloid exclaims its opinion the Economist whispers it in your ear.

From a news point of view the economist is about as definitive as magazines get. Its articles are as engaging as they are definitive. Talented writers write them. It is rather disconcerting as the articles are so similar throughout the magazine. And in their own way the articles are even humorous, to an Economist anyway.

But since it is so impersonal it does tend to be rathe
r cynical. It is also very sure of its own opinions. A drawback is that all the articles in the Economist seem to express the same point of view, that of the liberal neo-classicist. Although it is called the Economist it is not a discourse on present economic theory, it simply assumes that all the theory it preaches is correct. This does mean it does sometimes come across as rather arrogant.

The Economist does have its flaws but I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in currents affairs and a scientific outlook. There is certainly no other news magazine that can match its analytic rigour while at the same time remaining eminently readable.

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