The Burning Archive

Hard truth, bitter lesson: Governments around the world often fail people with mental illness. Many grand plans for reform or noble visions of liberation crash to earth. Why? On this podcast, I show the connection of mental illness to problems in democracy and the great world crisis today I share my reflections on government failure in mental health during my 33 years as a government official, including the failure of the Victorian Royal Commission on Mental Health, and I share fragments of the Burning Archive from Roger Scruton and Vaclav Havel that urge kinder, gentler, more modest aims to "reform" mental health.  Let me know what you think. Mental health matters for us all, and more grounded, compassionate and understanding policies by governments could lead to better care for many of us. You can also participate in my listener competition to set the agenda for The Burning Archive. Tell me by 30 June 2023, what is your favourite episode from the backlist of the Burning Archive, and why? what fragment of the Burning Archive, what treasure from the heritage of the multipolar world, would you like me to do a podcast on? Leave your comments on my jeffrich.substack.com, my YouTube channel community page, on Twitter or as a voice message on Spotify.

The last three years of the pandemic have strained the mental health of all and tested the mental health of our democracies, perhaps beyond breaking point. How do we make sense of of the shared emotional experience of the pandemic, and what does it mean for the health of democracy. How can the history of emotions help us understand the experience better than 'collective psychosis', 'totalitarianism' or 'misinformation.' Listen to this rare, sober insight of a historian and former government official, who worked on the pandemic response. I reflect on the meaning of the pandemic for our minds, our hearts and our lives after pandemic democracy. You can get more details of the material discussed on the show, and other glimpses of the history and culture of the mulitoplar world, by subscribing to my free weekly newsletter at jeffirch.substack.com. You can buy my book, From the Burning Archive: Essays and Fragments 2015-2022 via Amazon, Booktopia, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and other online retailers.

What is the relationship between madness, mental illness and the clash of civilizations today? The metaphor of a world gone mad is fitting for a world crisis, which affects society, culture, politics and competing civilizations. It is a charge some world leaders make about the West, and some intellectuals use to criticise the West as a decadent culture. But history shows that sometimes big historical turning points can change our ideas of madness or mental illness itself. Big changes in the world impact our inner mental world too. In this episode I discuss: - Michel Foucault, History of Madness (1961), abridged as Madness and Civilization (1965), and its profound legacy for politics and history today - the outline of Foucault's history of madness and how big historical turning points can change our ideas of madness or mental illness itself - my reflections on whether changes of the last 60 years are leading to another big shift in our ideas about madness or mental illness and its relationship to culture, civilization and political order. Get more details on this podcast by subscribing to my free weekly newsletter at jeffrich.substack.com where you can also support by content and writing with an upgraded subscription. Please also buy my book, From the Burning Archive that includes essays on madness, mental illness, history and Foucault.

Is French President Macron serious about bringing justice to France and independence to Europe? And what is the surprising link between Macron, European philosophy and the Burning Archive? On this episode I discuss: - President Emmanuel Macron's major speeches on reconciling social conflict, pension reforms, democracy and European independence or 'sovereign autonomy'; - whether French-US relations since World War II and Macron's track record of speeches on European independence suggest France is serious about taking Europe on an independent path in the multipolar world; and - the surprising connection between Macron's philosophical master and the Burning Archive. You can discover more details on these topics, and other glimpses of culture and history in the multipolar world, by subscribing to my free weekly newsletter at jeffrich.substack.com Subscribe to my YouTube Channel @theburningarchive. And you can my latest book, From the Burning Archive via Amazon and other online retailers. Thanks for listening. And remember 'What thou lovest well will not be reft from thee.' (Ezra Pound, Cantos LXXXI)

Will mass protests in Paris overthrow President Macron? How did a rule change for pensioners imperil the French Fifth Republic? Emmanuel Macron raised the minimum retirement age in France from 62 to 64. He wanted to control costs and make the French economy more competitive. But he did not have enough support in the French National Assembly to vote it into law. So he used a special constitutional power to make an emergency decree that by-passed lawmakers. This turned a campaign of opposition by unions and others into wild mass protests, with up to one million on the streets. Fires were lit. Police and protestors clashed violently. Is this a people’s revolt, or even a revolution for democracy? How does it compare to largely peaceful protests in America, Iran, Georgia, Israel, and across the world? Is this a Tricoleur Revolution? In this episode, you will learn: - an overview of the French revolt on pensions reforms - why have changes to pension rules led to a political crisis in France - lessons from history on the revolutionary crowd and people power - reflections from Hannah Arendt, On Revolution, and Simon Schama, Citizens, on the links between protest, revolution and violence Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com. #history #geopolitics #politics #Macron

Countries around the world are ditching the US dollar, and reducing their reliance on $USD in trade and foreign exchange reserves. China, Russia, Brazil, India, ASEAN and African nations have all made major announcements that have shocked American elites. Could these decisions spell doom for the US dollar? Is its status as the world's No. 1 reserve currency under threat? Stay calm in the crisis, and, on this episode, discover : - how decisions in 2023 by BRICS and other nations to reduce reliance on the US dollar are different to previous crises for the dollar - some lessons of history (and John Maynard Keynes) related to global reserve currencies and how World Wars 1 and 2 set up US dollar primacy - a fragment from the Burning Archive, Keynes' rejected proposal for a multipolar currency system, that was rejected by the USA in 1944 Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com.

Bank collapses in America and Europe may be a sign of financial and political crises to come. Or they may just be the result of a bank run by idiots. Will the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse Bank lead to a replay of the 2008 financial crisis? Will our leaders learn the lessons of history from the series of financial crises since 1998? Will they stay calm in the crisis, or will bad money spread like a contagion into failing democracies? This episode discusses: - the significance of the recent bank collapses in Europe and America, and what exactly happened? - the lessons of history for how governments respond to financial crises and how they spread into political crises - the best historian to follow if you want to understand financial crises and their links to the crisis of the multipolar world, Adam Tooze Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com.

How healthy is Western democracy? And what can the West, especially America, learn from the feedback the world is giving to the West about the democracy it exports to the world and the democracy it runs at home. This week, leaders from China, Mexico, Zambia and Western countries have all raised concerns about the state of democracy in the West. Should we have a conversation about it? This episode discusses: - a pulse test of Western democracy looking at events in Australia, France and the USA, and a survey of satisfaction with democracy in 17 Western countries - the Chinese Foreign Ministry paper, "The State of Democracy in America: 2022" - the Chinese political thinker, Meng Zi (or Mencius), and how his ideas inform both Chinese and Western style democracy Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com.

There is controversy about the health of democracy in India. Opposition politician, Rahul Gandhi claimed 'democracy is dead in India. PM Narendra Modi replied, India is the 'Mother of Democracy'. Who is right? What does it tell us about the emerging multipolar world? This episode discusses: - the controversy about the health of democracy in India today and how it reflects tensions about the rise of India - the history behind the claim that India is the Mother of Democracy, contrary to most Western myths - the Arthshastra (or 'Statecraft', c 300 BCE to 300 CE) that expresses the democratic ethos of ancient Indian political thought and is this episode's fragment from the 'Burning Archive', the cultural heritage of the multipolar world. Full details about the material referred to during this show can be obtained from my free weekly newsletter that you can subscribe to at jeffrich.substack.com.

Has Democracy died? In India? In the West? Did it die when Donald Trump was elected? These questions have tormented many people in liberal democracies over the last ten years. They have also been hotly debated in India  after comments by Rahul Gandhi that 'democracy is dead' in India. This episode of the Burning Archive was going to discuss that debate in India and the idea that India is historically the 'Mother of Democracy'. But I had technical problems with my recording. So, I have brought you instead an AI reading of my 2016 essay, 'Democracy and its Discontents'. This piece discusses the surprise election of Donald Trump and the discontent with democracy that it exposed. The episode on India as the Mother of Democracy will appear next week. You can also subscribe to my free newsletter at jeffrich.substack.com. There are some notes on the history of democracy and statecraft in India in this week's newsletter. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://theburningarchive.com/2016/11/15/democracys-discontents/