A Vigorous Moderation

Back in March, the London Economist forecast an Arab-Israeli explosion.

The magazine noted that Russia and the U.S. had reached a standoff in Europe and Southeast Asia, but that both had meanwhile been supplying Middle East nations with "a pretty remarkable list" of arms. It predicted that the superpowers would stay out of a Middle East war, however, because "their own soldiers and their ideological honor are not immediately at stake."

Characteristically, the Economist has not bothered to congratulate itself. As the editors see it, accurate prophecy is merely a byproduct of the magazine's job: analyzing international politics with a depth and detachment that few other publications ever match. Its calm authoritativeness has made it a favorite of political and business leaders in the U.S. as well as Britain. Exerting an influence far beyond its 90,000 circulation, the Economist blends concise reports of the week's news with lengthy analyses of key issues. It shuns abstractions and is seldom stuffy. The writing is pungent, specific, frequently touched with a cool humor.

Rarely Far-Out. Ever since 1938, when Geoffrey Crowther became editor, the Economist has attracted talented journalists and first-rate minds. It has rarely taken a far-out position that it has had to retreat from later. It has, in fact, vigorously espoused moderation and often corrected the overcensorious views of other publications. To the common taunt that the Israelis caught the Egyptian air force napping, the Economist replied that it was all but impossible to have guessed the timing of the attack. "Do not let us think that we would have done all that better than the Egyptians."

The Economist belongs to no political party or ideology. "We have nothing in common with the left wing of Labour," says Current Editor Alastair Burnet, 39, "nor with the right wing of the Conservatives." The Economist has argued against nationalization of the British steel industry and urged turning over the telephone system to private enterprise. On the other hand, says Burnet, "our social policy is in some ways more radical than that of both major parties." The magazine has consistently supported higher family allowances, liberalized sex laws, and greater unemployment compensation for men changing jobs--a move that would increase labor mobility. Truly international in outlook, the Economist has favored Britain's joining the Common Market and has stoutly backed the U.S. presence in Viet Nam.

Trend to the Vernacular. Under the Economist's articles of incorporation, no one shareholder is allowed to own more than 50% of the total stock. Currently, 50% is held by S. Pearson industries Ltd., a diversified holding company (pumps, pottery, publishing), that also owns the London Financial Times. For a British publication, the Economist is heavily staffed: a total of 40 writers and editors in London. In the rest of the world, it is very lightly staffed. It has one man in Washington, one in Paris, one in Bonn, and one in Vienna who covers all of Eastern Europe. Elsewhere it relies on stringers, often heavily edited in London. All articles are unsigned; staffers refer to their brand of journalism as "consultative."

Burnet, who was political editor of Independent Television News before he took over the Economist two years ago, is striving for less formal writing. "Nobody," he says, "not even treasury officials and financiers, talks the way the quality press has been written for so long. If there is a larger audience to be talked to--and I don't mean talked down to--we must write more nearly the way ordinary educated people write. We must use the vernacular more of ten." Burnet has also spruced up the staid Economist cover. A recent one asked in big print: "Who is Harold Wilson?" A question mark followed, and framed in the dot were the enigmatic features of Harold Wilson.

Burnet has no reason to believe he is doing anything wrong. In seven years, circulation has jumped by a third. Half is outside Britain; 11,000 copies are sold weekly in the U.S. Last May the Economist also started a biweekly Latin American edition in Spanish. "John Kennedy used to read us," says Burnet with quiet pride. "Johnson certainly reads us on Viet Nam at least. Bobby Kennedy reads us. Harold Wilson reads us without fail." And he might also have added that the Economist has made money every one of its 124 years.

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