A period of uncertainty

When was this written?

"It is one of the most melancholy reflections of the present day, that while wealth and capital have been rapidly increasing, while science and art have been working the most surprising miracles in aid of the human family, and while morality, intelligence, and civilization have been rapidly extending on all hands;- that at this time, the great material interests of the higher and middle classes, and the physical condition of the labouring and industrial classes, are more and more marked by characters of uncertainty and insecurity."

Though the argument could probably have been made at any time since the early Nineteenth Century and up to a minute ago, the fact that the quote above is a single sentence gives us a big clue. Actually, it’s 1843, it’s from The Economist, and it’s from the first issue included in The Economist Archive, 1843 to 2003.

I nearly didn’t cover The Economist Archive this week, since it’s been causing us a bit of trouble. A gremlin seems to have crept into the Westminster Libraries computer system, making it rather difficult to use this otherwise highly impressive new resource. But it doesn’t seem to affect access elsewhere, so I decided I would tell you about it after all.

It’s a subscription website – you know the drill, Westminster Libraries pay the sub, so you need a library card to use it at home. Got your card? Good, then read on…

The archive is a complete facsimile of The Economist from 1843 to 2003. Like The Times Digital Archive, you can search it like any other database but, when you click on to the item you want, it pops up looking just as it did when it was published, complete with off-white background and a hint of staples at one side. In fact the early issues come complete with scuff marks and ink blots – very atmospheric.

If you want to go into more depth than The Times (so we’re talking a long way from shallow) The Economist can do very deep indeed. Sometimes po-faced, sometimes waspish and petulant, there’s a lot of opinion here, all mixed up with the news. Not many pictures, but there are the charts and tables for which The Economist has become rightly respected, and these can be downloaded in a number of ways, as well as in facsimile form.

Jokes and light relief? – a bit thin on the ground, I’m afraid. But if your idea of a good laugh is to read some very thorough hatchet-jobs on erring politicians, this The Economist can do in spades. Good digging.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "Newspapers and magazines". The Economist Archive is a Key link.)



Picture Credit: The Economist