800 Years and We're Still At It

"2015 is the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta, the single most important legal document in history.  The foundation for global constitutions, commerce and communities.  The anchor for the Rule of Law."

… RT. Hon. Fiona Woolfe C.B.E.

WAIT, DON'T MOVE ON JUST YET, because what this means is that we are who we are because the Magna Carta is what it is. Yes, the language is a bit formal and, yes, eight centuries seem a long time ago. But the signing of this vital document at Runnymede in England served as a shot across the bow of all those seeking to hold onto power for its own sake. All those great movements and documents that came later – revolutions, constitutions, declarations of independence, the right to freely vote – eventually emerged because centuries earlier a number of barons opted to hold the king to account, introducing the idea that power itself is never a guaranteed thing.We shouldn’t go overboard, assuming that the Magna Carta introduced democracy to the world. It wasn’t about the average person at all, but an effort by some 40 English barons to fight back against King John’s excessive taxation plan. It didn’t happen in a palace, a cathedral, or a court, but an obscure field near Windsor, away from the great institutions of the day. I’ve been to that spot and there’s still nothing grand about it.Perhaps that’s partly because they understood it was unlikely to last, which, in that era, turned out to be true. A few months after signing the document, King John had it annulled by the Vatican, who then proceeded to excommunicate all the rebellious barons from the church. Later, when Henry III became king, he reissued the Magna Carta, but pared down the clauses from 69 to 27. Today, only three of the original clauses remain part of English law.Yet what the Magna Carta means to the world today is far greater than even the full document itself could represent, for it has come to mean something far more than some rich folks attempting to make themselves richer by getting the king to back off. It pointed to the vulnerabilities and the transient nature of power itself. While some see it as a precursor to democracy, its real value lies in the establishment of due process. It says that no person can be stripped of their property or rights without going through an established legal process. This was revolutionary for its day. Law was to become the basis of societal function, not some whim of the king or the powerful elite.Ironically, that ancient document designed to get more wealth has taken on an entirely new meaning. It gives everyone under the domain of law the right to live out their lives in the way they see fit. In a modern world where the financial barons and corporate giants seek every advantage from political elites they can acquire, it is vital that the arc of power moves towards all and not just some.Yes, the Magna Carta in initial form could rightly be called a failure, but people at the time worried it was also true of the visionary documents of the American and French revolutions. But beneath the Magna Carta’s language were inspiring notions about sovereigns bowing to the will of their people and that law, not papal or kingly power, should be the ultimate arbitrator and protector of citizens. In other words, the hidden aspirations of the document outlived its time-sensitive importance. The document that failed to deliver its promise in its time nevertheless inspired 800 years of idealism.In the end, the Magna Carta has come to represent the free expression and will of the people over those in power. That’s not what the original document, penned on sheepskin, was about at all. But the dreams of all of us can often outlast the machinations of a few of us, and the Magna Carta stands today as one of humanity’s great achievements.  Eight centuries later we are still struggling to ensure that wealth doesn't merely accrue to the hands of a few.As Thomas Tany was to write in 1650, “The Magna Carta is the being of our being.” Indeed. Almost eight centuries later, Anne Frank was to put her seal on that outlook:  “I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out.”Anne Frank did it under totalitarianism; surely we should be able to accomplish our collective ideals under freedom.