Council: Press Corps
Press Agency: The Economist
Names: Arna Patwa
School: Temasek Junior College
The Economist is a weekly updated news source that primarily focuses on global
economic issues, as well as politics and business. According to the articles, the
professional business community and international political sectors are its main target
audiences. James Wilson, a British businessman who disapproved of high import taxes
on foreign corn, founded it in 1843. The Anti-Corn Law League's Mr. Wilson and his
associates were classical liberals in the vein of Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and
William Ewart Gladstone. Since then, the newspaper's instincts have been guided by
its heritage: it is opposed to any unjustified restrictions on a person's economic or
personal freedom. It focuses primarily on politics and economics, but it also includes a
wide range of editorials and written stories about finance, the environment, and current
events. It is renowned worldwide for having done away with skewed claims; however, it
still has a Lean Left rating1, displaying bias in ways that moderately align with liberal,
progressive, or left-wing perception. The issue with this bias is that nations with
citizens who are more dependent on their government frequently fall short of the ideals
that this news organization attempts to promote, demonstrating that it simply ignores
the country’s socio-cultural context.
Critics have claimed that The Economist has succumbed to some biases that
emphasize and support the need for neoliberalism, increased social mobility, and free
trade. This is viewed as a strategy for persuading the populace that liberalism and free
trade are the best means of enhancing economic development and demonstrates The
Economist's desire to end local businesses' reliance on government funding. There
have been repetitive posts on recent articles on China’s economic dominance, with
similar conclusions to different complex problems and some assumptions in their
conclusions. One of its most recent articles, "Is Chinese Power About to Peak?"2
mentions that in order to maintain economic balance and tackle the demographic and
political challenges that China faces, China’s leader should “unleash growth by giving
the animal spirits of China’s economy freer rein and his people more freedom of
movement.”. It also assumes that “such reforms might ultimately make China more
1
What does a “Lean Left” media bias rating mean? (2012, May 24). AllSides.
https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/left-center
2
Is Chinese power about to peak? (n.d.). Is Chinese Power About to Peak?
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/05/11/is-chinese-power-about-to-peak
powerful”. The article wants China to embrace political liberalism and have little
government intervention, in order to prevent China’s economy from weakening.
However, it attempts to convince the reader based on hypothetical reasoning.
An article promoting China and US free trade by reducing political barriers has used
terms like “reassuring firms that it is safe to do business”3, when ‘safe’ is not
necessarily how one would define trade, especially in that particular context where
there was no factor making trade unsafe. It promotes one-sided arguments, primarily
because it prefers to see liberalization and economic diversification as solutions to the
majority of the problems mentioned, such as war and poverty. This compromises its
content, not only due to its historical roots and nature of founding, which lean toward
left-wing perception, but also because it fails to provide its reader with a fully unbiased
opinion and a holistic viewpoint.
3
Europe can’t decide how to unplug from China. (n.d.). Europe Can’t Decide How to Unplug From China.
https://www.economist.com/international/2023/05/15/europe-cant-decide-how-to-unplug-from-china
Is The Economist left- or right-wing? (n.d.). Is the Economist Left- or Right-wing?
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/09/02/is-the-economist-left-or-right-wing
Nast, C., & N. (2019, October 30). Liberalism According to The Economist. The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/11/liberalism-according-to-the-economist
Group, T. E. (n.d.). The Economist Group - ESG. The Economist Group.
https://www.economistgroup.com/esg
