My thoughts on today’s anniversary, over at PJMedia. I haven’t been posting much because I’ve been attending a mini-conference on the subject, which was fascinating. I learned a lot of history from a lot of learned people. Sadly, it’s a history that we have not been teaching our youth. It doesn’t fit the narrative.
[Tuesday-morning update]
More thoughts from Iain Murray.
[Bumped]
[Afternoon update]
We need a Magna Carta for the regulatory state.
Indeed.
Have you been to Runnymede? I think the area is beautiful, but definitely understated for its historical significance. I found that a good deal of Londoners don’t even know where it is, despite being not that far from Heathrow. A couple of other memorials in the area including one to JFK.
But of course:
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/208654/
I am glad to see attention being paid to this anniversary of such an important event. A good bit of said attention seems to be coming from people with at least some libertarian views. I would like to see some attention being paid by people of other views as well. There is much that needs to change in all sorts of ways in our society.
800 years ago power was concentrated in the political state and organized religion. Magna Carta began formalizing things that had been underway culturally before. The Protestant Reformation did much the same thing regarding religion.
Today we have the rise of the large economic organization that also affects our liberties. While the left gets much, much wrong, they do make some valid points when discussing how major corporations have power in our communities, power over the lives of employees and customers and power over government agencies that calls out for reforms much like Magna Carta did in the political sphere centuries ago. Government regulation seems like a response to this — but not a good one.
Oh — for what it is worth — I am actually descended from a rather prominent Englishman of four centuries ago by the name of John Donne. He in many ways also stood up for the right of people in general to live their lives in freedom.