Theses on the World Crisis
So I have decided to write a series of posts on my substack exploring theses on the world crisis. You can join my free weekly newsletter at jeffrich.substack.com, and I would encourage all readers of the blog to do so.
Come and See a Real History of War
As it happened, I had watched on the weekend the earlier Soviet film, Come and See (1985). Perhaps next Victory Day, Michael Pezzulo should write to his staff, and urge them to watch Come and See.
Fear, Loathing, and the History of Emotions
On the podcast I discuss how the history of emotions might offer a framework to think mindfully about the past of the last three crazy years of the pandemic and its impact on democracy.
Memory, History, Forgetting, Macron and Ricoeur
Towards, the end of Memory, History, and Forgetting, indeed, Ricoeur evoked the famous angel of history from the painting by Paul Klee, described in Walter Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History. This image also inspired my poems, blog, podcast, YouTube and now Sub-Stack newsletter. It marked a deep, unexpected bond between Ricoeur, Macron and I.
Will Pensions and a Revolutionary Crowd Undo Macron?
On the podcast this week I examined the enormous protests in France caused by President Macron’s changes to the minimum qualifying age for retirement pensions.
Reserve Currency and the End of the US Dollar Empire
I took a deep dive into the history of the idea of global reserve currency in the podcast this week. This episode was provoked by the outcry in America about other nations that showed the audacity to trade in their own national currencies rather than the US dollar.
‘Once I lived in heaven above, now I live among grass and brambles’
Empress Zhu wrote, “Once I lived in heaven above, in pearl palaces and jade towers; now I live among grass and brambles, my blue robes soaked in tears. I hate the drift of snow.”
Statecraft and the Indian tradition of democracy
The story of Arthshastra is similarly fit for the Burning Archive. It was composed some time between the 2rd century BC and 3rd century CE. It was known to be influential until the 12th century, but then was lost or went underground, perhaps due to the Persian, Mughal or Muslim rule over India. It was known of, but considered lost by colonial era scholars. Then in in 1905 a Tamil Brahmin from Tanjore walked into the newly opened Mysore Oriental Library with a copy of the Arthashastra in Sanskrit, written on palm leaves.
The Flowers of Ukraine
Sadly one of the tragic, compassionate lessons of history is that sometimes people can destroy themselves. There are many examples in history where people become possessed by strange ideas, and when these possessed elites follow a path of ruin.
culture / history / literature
Rabindranath Tagore. The Nation is an anesthetic.
Tagore’s essay, ‘Nationalism’, was published in 1917. It is a scathing denunciation of the war of Western nations who controlled empires that raged in Europe at that time.