Opinion of The Economist

[Geoffrey Howe]

Further to my poll on The Spectator, what is your opinion of The Economist?

To take into account:

• Quality of writing
• Breadth/detail/quality of articles - is there something interesting?
• Opinion of their perspective

So one can disagree with the perspective of a newspaper, yet still appreciate it for its analysis, content, quality of writing etc.

I greatly enjoy The Economist. They are effectively the only publication left which puts effort into the quality of the writing. Their analysis is interesting - ‘trend lines not headlines’ - and there is always a good breadth of topics. They used to be rather right wing back in the day, but I think they’ve moved significantly to the left recently (as have many). This said, their ‘three steps to save the world’ articles are a little irritating. Also, I am more of a traditionalist conservative to their classical liberal.

[Conservatopia]

Their quality of writing, particularly on economic issues, is well above average.  I dislike their social liberalism and the way they bang on about global warming but that's not enough to make me avoid them.  Their analysis of elections in relatively obscure countries (eg Suriname) is very useful too and is enough to overlook the fact that they have endorsed frivolous joke parties in the past.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

they have endorsed frivolous joke parties in the past.

Haha, yes; though even I was reduced to supporting them in 2019.

How dare you describe "Count Binface" as a joke. He was seriously trying to become Prime Minister two years ago!

[Big Abraham]

Despite whatever surface-level quality their prose may have, they are the archetype of neoliberal journalism and all the blatant propaganda that goes along with it, and the shares of which are, unsurprisingly, largely the property of a billionaire investment banking family.

[QAnonKelly]

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

[TDAS04]

FP.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

I find many articles interesting, but am always a bit uncomfortable at how superficial the analysis feels. It's a problem when you can predict exactly what the take will be before you read every article.   

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

How is The Economist centre-left? They supported David Cameron for gods sake.

[Geoffrey Howe]

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

How is The Economist centre-left? They supported David Cameron for gods sake.

To give an example of how much they have changed, they went from endorsing Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000 to expressing great admiration for Elizabeth Warren (their only criticism being she was slightly too statist).

[Big Abraham]

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

How is The Economist centre-left? They supported David Cameron for gods sake.

To give an example of how much they have changed, they went from endorsing Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000 to expressing great admiration for Elizabeth Warren (their only criticism being she was slightly too statist).

This is less an example of the Economist's editorial stance changing and more of a reflection of how corporate-adjacent many self-styled progressive Dems are.

[Geoffrey Howe]

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

How is The Economist centre-left? They supported David Cameron for gods sake.

To give an example of how much they have changed, they went from endorsing Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000 to expressing great admiration for Elizabeth Warren (their only criticism being she was slightly too statist).

This is less an example of the Economist's editorial stance changing and more of a reflection of how corporate-adjacent many self-styled progressive Dems are.

Your posts are bordering on conspiracy theories. Do you have any evidence that Senator Warren tried to get them to publish that, or did something in order for them to do that?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

How is The Economist centre-left? They supported David Cameron for gods sake.

To give an example of how much they have changed, they went from endorsing Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000 to expressing great admiration for Elizabeth Warren (their only criticism being she was slightly too statist).

This is less an example of the Economist's editorial stance changing and more of a reflection of how corporate-adjacent many self-styled progressive Dems are.

Irrespective of whether what you said is or isn't relevant or true, there is something that would more directly impact the magazine's editorial line - the median Economist reader is probably a good deal more to the left than it was in 1996 (or at least votes that way).

[Big Abraham]

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

How is The Economist centre-left? They supported David Cameron for gods sake.

To give an example of how much they have changed, they went from endorsing Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000 to expressing great admiration for Elizabeth Warren (their only criticism being she was slightly too statist).

This is less an example of the Economist's editorial stance changing and more of a reflection of how corporate-adjacent many self-styled progressive Dems are.

Your posts are bordering on conspiracy theories. Do you have any evidence that Senator Warren tried to get them to publish that, or did something in order for them to do that?

No, nor did I insinuate such a thing. But a whole slew of neoliberal publications, including not only the Economist but also NYT etc., endorsed or spoke highly of her campaign - which (& I believe even Nate Silver was aware enough to catch on to) was designed to cater to, and was much more popular among, the more educated and well-to-do rungs of the middle class, rather than being any kind of popular movement of working people. You would never see the Economist endorsing Bernie Sanders for example.

[Geoffrey Howe]

Best center left publication in the English speaking world.

How is The Economist centre-left? They supported David Cameron for gods sake.

To give an example of how much they have changed, they went from endorsing Bob Dole in 1996 and George Bush in 2000 to expressing great admiration for Elizabeth Warren (their only criticism being she was slightly too statist).

This is less an example of the Economist's editorial stance changing and more of a reflection of how corporate-adjacent many self-styled progressive Dems are.

Your posts are bordering on conspiracy theories. Do you have any evidence that Senator Warren tried to get them to publish that, or did something in order for them to do that?

No, nor did I insinuate such a thing. But a whole slew of neoliberal publications, including not only the Economist but also NYT etc., endorsed or spoke highly of her campaign - which (& I believe even Nate Silver was aware enough to catch on to) was designed to cater to, and was much more popular among, the more educated and well-to-do rungs of the middle class, rather than being any kind of popular movement of working people. You would never see the Economist endorsing Bernie Sanders for example.

Right, so it's basically just aesthetic.

[Del Tachi]

Best center left liberal publication in the English speaking world.

FTFY

[bore]

Its honestly profoundly depressing because of what it reveals about the extent to which faulty impressions about political ideology have embedded themselves in the discourse to see people seriously argue that the economist is now centre left which is fundamentally an as farce version of 'the nazis were really left wing'.

Here is their leader on the election of Bolsonaro in 2019. It's worth reading all of it, but the final paragraph should suffice to end this ridiculous debate:

If Mr Bolsonaro succeeds in reforming the economy and cleaning up Brazil, he could unleash his country’s long-squandered potential. Nothing would give The Economist more pleasure. But to do so he must end his career as a provocateur and become a statesman. He must give up having only a selective respect for the law. And he must stop being lukewarm on pension reform, his government’s most important policy, and give it his full-throated support. Mr Bolsonaro has yet to show that he can tell voters bad news—such as that their pensions are unaffordable—or that he can work with congress. Unless he learns quickly, Brazilians will be disappointed again.

[Alcibiades]

Freedom publication. Its latent smugness can occasionally become grating, but it is ultimately one of the few mainstream publications which attempts to write seriously about major world issues.

[Santander]

Best center left liberal publication in the English speaking world.

FTFY

I prefer the FT, but yeah, as much as I disagree with their editorial positions at times, the FT and The Economist at least present opinions based on facts.

[Utah Neolib]

Generally FP

[Torrain]

Decent journal, which, although very sure of its own opinion (to the point of smugness), puts out an ocean of good material.

Their breakdown of Aung San Suu Kyi's motivations over the past few years stands out to me as a particularly effective and well-produced piece of journalism.