The Only Magazine You Need to Read

There isn’t always time to read a book, so if you can find time to read only one business publication a week, make it The Economist.

The Economist has been at the nexus of business, politics, and community since British hatmaker James Wilson founded it in 1843. The mission of the weekly paper was to promote free trade and oppose the protectionist trade policies of the British Parliament.

The now-worldwide publication continues to advocate for free trade. And because of the strong devotion to that mission, The Economist staff is not confined to reporting only on the business community, but covers all aspects of contemporary life—political movements and trends, government policy, international debates, science, and culture—that may affect that community. These aspects include how its members go to work, do business, and interact with others.

This approach serves the business community well, for business is intricately tied to these forces—the political and social landscapes surrounding it.

Whereas magazines like Forbes and Fortune focus more narrowly on following American politics and financial markets, and tend to be influenced by Wall Street, The Economist examines and reports on the larger context in which those markets exist. Staff members are anonymous when they write for The Economist, which lends the periodical an objective credibility and turns the spotlight on the issue at hand rather than on an individual writer’s perspective.

Every issue of The Economist offers in-depth coverage of the week’s events with sections devoted specifically to the United States, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and its native country, Great Britain. Its content includes analysis and insight on the overall business and political climate, sections devoted to books and the arts, and quarterly reports on science and technology.

Written by Todd Sattersten with Dylan Schleicher