WHY MAGNA CARTA STILL MATTERS:
FIGHTING FOR FREDOM 800 YEARS ON
Today, spiked launches its Magna Carta project, to discuss the importance of freedom and the rule of law 800 years after that historic document was signed.
Consisting of a specially-designed ideas-packed website, with essays, articles and podcasts challenging the old and new threats to liberty, and alive event in London on 28 May, the project promises both to bring Magna Carta to life for a new audience and kick off a big debate about defending freedom in the 21st century.
In the project's launch editorial, 'Eight hundred years on, why Magna Carta still matters', Brendan O'Neill says:
‘Magna Carta did not only articulate the rule of law — it also, through its shackling of a divine king in the name of the freedom of non-divine barons, promised a rebalancing of the relationship between the state and the individual. Today, that relationship is being turned around: the sovereignty of the individual seems weak, while the authority of the state, on everything from what we say to how we parent, is growing. A revisiting of the Magna Carta and its 800-year impact on human affairs is more necessary than ever.’
Read here.
Meanwhile, in an interview for the Magna Carta project, controversial Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens says:
‘Magna Carta stands for a principle. It stands for the rule of law over power. And that seems to me to be disappearing at an amazing rate.’
Meanwhile, in an interview for the Magna Carta project, controversial Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens says:
‘Magna Carta stands for a principle. It stands for the rule of law over power. And that seems to me to be disappearing at an amazing rate.’
Read the full interview here.
And Frank Furedi, author and professor of sociology, writes:
‘The necessity of almost every generation since 1215 to appeal to the precedent set by Magna Carta points to the always precarious status of freedom. Freedom depends on a political culture that takes the principles of an open and democratic ethos seriously. History shows that freedoms that really mean something are won through the action of public-spirited people rather than being gifted by a benevolent ruler or state.’
And Frank Furedi, author and professor of sociology, writes:
‘The necessity of almost every generation since 1215 to appeal to the precedent set by Magna Carta points to the always precarious status of freedom. Freedom depends on a political culture that takes the principles of an open and democratic ethos seriously. History shows that freedoms that really mean something are won through the action of public-spirited people rather than being gifted by a benevolent ruler or state.’
http://www.spiked-online.com/magna-carta
And come to the live debate in London! Taking place on the evening of 28 May, at the church in Putney at which the Levellers had their famous, history-shaking debates on freedom and democracy, it promises to be a lively liberal discussion.
And come to the live debate in London! Taking place on the evening of 28 May, at the church in Putney at which the Levellers had their famous, history-shaking debates on freedom and democracy, it promises to be a lively liberal discussion.
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