The Economist's articles, whether reporting on international news or commenting on policies, are not signed and are the responsibility of the publication for each article. Economists argue that this approach stems from the idea of founder James Wilson that a good newspaper should be composed of collective wisdom rather than individual perspectives. Don't be fooled by this grandiose statement, it actually contains a lot of content.
American writer Michael Lewis once said that The Economist kept writing anonymously because the editorial department didn't want readers to know that the writers were actually young and inexperienced authors. In 1991, he joked, "The writers of this magazine are all pretending to be mature young people... If American readers could see that their economics mentors are actually full of pimples, they would be eager to unsubscribe." Canadian writer John Ralston Thor also once said that the newspaper "creates an illusion by hiding the names of the writers, as if their content is fair truth rather than personal opinions.