The Economist newspaper was founded in 1843 by British businessman James Wilson. Emblazoned on its front inner page since its first issue is its mission: "Published to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress".
The last 18 months have presented the newspaper with one of the most arduous and impassioned chapters in that contest. The political phenomena of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump produced widespread social divisions and anxieties in The Economist's highest-circulation markets, the UK and USA.
At the heart of this upheaval is the...