The Upheaval

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Buried Treasures

theupheaval.substack.com

Buried Treasures

Selections from the archives

N.S. Lyons
Feb 23
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Buried Treasures

theupheaval.substack.com
X Marks The Spot | Did Pirates Bury Their Treasure? | HistoryExtra

Thanks to Substack viewer data, I’ve found that new subscribers almost never read the archives from before they joined. I assume this is because you all want the thrill of the new. I understand; the new is hot. That’s how we end up with the constant change we all know and love. But, you know, if you read old things that you’ve never read before, they can still be pretty hot. Unlike leftovers, no re-heating is required!

So, while I work on finishing the next new essay, why not check out some of the quality content from the Upheaval archive? Here’s a selection of some older material from the vault that you may not have seen but which could be of interest:

The Upheaval
Dalio, Debt, and National Death Throes
Is the world about to go bust? Are we at the terminus of a historical cycle, when “the old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born,” as everyone’s favorite Cultural Marxist Antonio Gramsci would put it? As an internet writer with a penchant for the cyclical and the apocalyptic, I am of course always inclined to answer affirmatively. But I was a bit surprised to see that billionaire investor and Darwinian-capitalist extraordinaire Ray Dalio seems to think so as well…
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a year ago · 13 likes · 9 comments · N.S. Lyons

Before there was the year of rampant inflation, and before today’s renewed agonizing over the colossal U.S. national debt, there was this Upheaval review of Ray Dalio’s interesting 2021 book on historical debt cycles and the vast scope of their consequences. Subsequently Dalio got himself pushed out of the leadership of his hedge fund for being too pro-China – but what can I say: his predictions seem to have held up pretty well so far. Which, if you read this, won’t bode well.

The Upheaval
China: Empire
This the first of a three part series of essays on the rise of China and what it really means for o…
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2 years ago · 40 likes · 15 comments · N.S. Lyons

Speaking of China: the world may always be changing, yet China remains. You should know about China, since China knows about you (no, don’t look up, the balloon is always watching). This early essay set out to begin a series explaining China, and its role in the world. My views on China have shifted a bit since then, but this should still hold up – plus you’ll be all caught up for Part 3 in 2023…

The Upheaval
Are we in a 500 Year Religious Revolution?
I have a certain fondness for cyclical history, or at least the notion that there are some structural patterns that seem to recur in predictable waves throughout history – including ones that could explain our current period of upheaval. Several observers of history have theorized broad 60-100 year secular “cycles…
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2 years ago · 65 likes · 114 comments · N.S. Lyons

You may have heard certain zealous modern political movements described as new religions (such as by me), or maybe as religious heresies. But what does that mean? How might changes in how religious belief manifests itself cause cultural and political upheaval? Has what we’re seeing today happened before – indeed many times – in history? This early essay of mine explores that question through the lens of Christianity and a somewhat odd book, The Great Emergence, by the late Phyllis Tickle.

The Upheaval
Mary Harrington on Female Elites, Post-Liberalism, and our Cyborg Age
Mary Harrington is one of the most interesting writers publishing today, as far as I’m concerned. A columnist at UnHerd, and a frequent commentator elsewhere, Mary is a prolific writer. But what makes that writing consistently fascinating is her ability to bring together many disparate topics – from religion and philosophy, to economic and technological change, to the shifting front lines of the culture war and gender relations – to make arguments that often suddenly seem blindingly obvious only in retrospect. And in doing so she effortlessly punctures the orthodoxies of political left and right alike with an utterly nonchalant disregard for political correctness, a fierce regard for human dignity, and a delightfully dry – and devastating – British wit. I think she’s pretty cool, in other words…
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a year ago · 29 likes · 10 comments · N.S. Lyons

Like debt, China, or religion, there is apparently a cycle of demand for Mary Harrington. When I recently polled the Substack Chat thread (which you should join!) for suggestions of people to interview, she was a top choice. Well guess what: I already interviewed Mary. This is why you should all read the archive instead of missing out. So enjoy this, and maybe we’ll have Mary back another time.

The Upheaval
Four Big Questions for the Counter-Revolution
I was in the middle of working on a rather different long essay when, eventually, I came to the conclusion that I had little choice but to write this one first instead. In recent weeks my thoughts have been roiled by a series of questions that, eventually, I felt compelled…
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2 years ago · 66 likes · 45 comments · N.S. Lyons

The American right, and the broader “anti-woke” conservative-liberal coalition, seems to currently be fracturing. You can read all about it on the internet if you want. And it seems to be fracturing, at least in part, right along the lines I laid out in this 2021 essay on the fissures present in the “counter-revolution.” So this may be worth reading if that’s a subject of interest to you.

The Upheaval
Liberalism and its Discontinuities
Discussed in this review essay: Liberalism and its Discontents, by Francis Fukyama (May 2022); Conservatism: A Rediscovery, by Yoram Hazony (May 2022) What’s gone wrong with liberalism? Getting that diagnosis right seems in recent years to have taken on some urgency, and even bipartisan concern. For many on the American left, lukewarm political liberalism no longer satisfies, now that its ability to eliminate persistent inequalities and other alleged injustices is held in doubt – even as fascistic, would-be right-wing Caesars doubtless lurk behind every bush, preparing to finish off our liberal democracy once and for all. For most of the right, meanwhile, liberalism seems to be in a self-evident process of catastrophic collapse and rapid…
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9 months ago · 69 likes · 115 comments · N.S. Lyons

If you liked my essay on Tolkien and Lewis, you may find this essay on Liberalism and Conservatism and their influence (reviewing recent books on the topics by Francis Fukuyama and Yoram Hazony, respectively) to be of related interest. Make sure you subscribe to read the second half and not just the first.

The Upheaval
Why Inquire?
A reader writes in response to “The Reality War”: Hello N.S., I've realized that I read (blogs on the Internet) compulsively in an attempt to acquire enough framing knowledge and wisdom to know how to conduct my life t…
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a year ago · 37 likes · 18 comments · N.S. Lyons

Not too many people were around to read this short post responding to a reader with my view of the consolation of philosophy, but more than one person has since told me it remains their favorite. So consider giving it a read.

The Upheaval
Humor and Humanity
“Laughter is a human thing, a virtue belonging only to humanity and God, that perhaps God gave to humans as consolation for having made them intelligent.” – Marcel Pagnol “The grins of the people are the nightmares of dictators.” – Liu Xiaobo I mentioned in …
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a year ago · 60 likes · 11 comments · N.S. Lyons

This short piece on the enduring power and value of humor may, meanwhile, be my own low-key favorite.


So there you go: some weekend reading material, should you want it. And if you enjoy any of these older posts, please do consider sharing them with others who might as well. Thank you everyone for your continued support, and I’ll be back in your inbox with the new stuff soon!

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Buried Treasures

theupheaval.substack.com
15 Comments
Gavinski
Feb 23Liked by N.S. Lyons

Will do, thanks! Maybe I'll print a few and give them a read with my morning coffee this Saturday.

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John Sutherland
Feb 23

I suspect that you may be missing the fact that not all of us are speed readers and that there are only so many hours in the day. I like history, but my reviews are more involved with location and individual history, not so much topic history. And yes, I am perhaps more of a reader than a listener, but both methods of learning are important. Have a great day!

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