Welcome to recent subscribers
Thank you for your support.
A special thanks to those readers who have found me here after reading my article in Pearls and Irritations this morning. I intend to post articles to Pearls and Irritations regularly through the year, and write on a world affairs and world history more frequently here.
For regular subscribers who have not seen the article, it comments on proposals for détente between USA and China, and is called, “The West has Lost the Will to Peace.” Special thanks to the subscribers who have said such kind things about the articles on the social media.
Here is a quick introduction to the themes and tempo of this substack. You can read the archive of the Burning Archive at jeffrich.substack.com.
Free weekly newsletter
I write a free weekly newsletter/essay that goes out Saturday morning, Eastern Australian time. I aim for this post to be 1000-2000 words, and rotate through themes I discuss below.
Wednesday essay/message
If you upgrade to a paid supporter, you also receive a weekly post from me on Wednesday evening. I alternate between an essay (2000+ words) and a 10-15 minute video/audio message. I am currently writing a series of essays, “The Tides of Globalisation” that present a brief history of the multipolar world, and back up my claim that, as I wrote in today’s piece, “the tides of history have turned on the vengeful American empire”.
Please also check out my podcast and youtube channel. There are a few exclusive podcasts available to Substack supporters. Or even my courses at courses.jeffrichwriter.com.
Themes of the Burning Archive in 2024
I set out the themes I want to write on in 2024 in a post in late 2023, “Letting go of politics: Wu wei and the 2024 themes of the Burning Archive”. I wrote
I want to offer pathways of hope, consolation and mindful attention. I hope they can offer you as a reader some insights, skills and mindsets that may, if through the smallest of steps, return this world to a path of dialogue, diplomacy and respect for difference.
Instead of writing about imperial rivalry and ‘geopolitics’, I will write about the coming symphony of civilizations in a world no longer dominated alone by the West.
Instead of writing about social fragmentation and looming collapse, I will write about the daily practices that can help us achieve a society of islands, rather than an island society (as I discussed in this podcast, Towards a Society of Islands, in 2021).
Instead of writing about cultural decay and doom, I will write about how authentic writing, voices and remembrance can renew our lives and restore some more appreciation of cultural exchange, including between the present and the past.
You could summarise my approach to my themes in three practices: authentic writing, mindful history, and cultural dialogue.
All three themes are united by one hope. Let us return the world to the path of dialogue, diplomacy and respect for difference. Between different civilizations. Between different social groups. Between different cultural traditions and schools of thought. Between the past and the present.
Thanks again for joining. Please share my work within your network.
I would welcome any comments on my writing, or suggestions for topics or other outlets that might be interested in what I have to say. Substack also has a chat stream and a Notes (Twitter like app) in its app, which I use from time to time.
Most of all thanks for giving me the courage to carry on writing on these sometimes difficult topics in ways that do not always receive widespread support. It helps me, as Samuel Beckett wrote, to keep going, going on. Calling that going, and calling that on.