ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: doi.org/10.54208/1000/0006 55
a disadvantaged social stratum, ill-informed, if not
intentionally ignorant, and prone to magical rather
than reasoned thinking. These are P.T. Barnum’s
proverbial suckers.
Many MCLR adherents published communications
received from government actors, denouncing the
authors as traitors who would shortly be punished.
When reviewed, that correspondence shows polite,
careful attempts to inform and nudge MCLR adherents
onto a more productive path. Similarly, the Alberta
court decisions that responded to Phoenix were on
point, informative, detailed, and used language and
analysis that was accessible to the public and permitted
independent verification. In hindsight, officials,
institutions, and state actors did what they could. The
primary victims of the MCLR--its adherents--brought
their suffering on themselves. They chose poorly.
If, in hindsight, there was a past error, and a lesson to
be learned from the rise and implosion of the MCLR,
then that lesson is that no-one should mythologize law
and legal authority. The Magna Cartas have become
a gaudy but hollow icon in the UK common law
tradition, more a creature of myth, than anything real.
Law is a set of rules to organize and lubricate social
function, not a magical thing. Or, at least, it should not
be. Lawyers, legal academics, and judges tend to inflate
and aggrandize the law and its basis when, in truth,
“legal principles” and “legal rules” are often grounded
in deeply dubious ancient philosophies. Law is more
“state religion” than “science.” Unlike modern medicine
and science, much law is unvalidated. In that way, the
so-called absolute truths pointed to by the MCLR and
traditional legal scholarship are not so different. But
that is a problem for legal thinkers, rather than social
scientists. At least for now.
References
AVI v MHVB, 2020 ABQB 489.
https://canlii.ca/t/j9c1p
AVI v MHVB, 2020 ABQB 790.
https://canlii.ca/t/jc5m3
Badshah, N. (2021, August 17). Protesters claim to
‘seize’ Edinburgh Castle citing Magna
Carta. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/
aug/17/protesters-claim-to-seize-edinburgh-
castle-citing-magna-carta
Bar-El, Y., Durst, R., Katz, G., Zislin, J., Strauss, Z.,
&Knobler, H. (2018). Jerusalem Syndrome.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 176:1, 87-90.
Barkun, M. (2013). A Culture of Conspiracy:
Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America.
University of California Press.
Blackwell, T. (2020a, August 27). Alberta judge bars
new ‘pseudo law’ advocate who claims Magna
Carta puts her outside court’s jurisdiction.
National Post.
https://nationalpost.com/news/alberta-judge-
bars-new-pseudo-law-advocate-who-claims-
magna-carta-puts-her-outside-courts-authority
Blackwell, T. (2020b, September 3). Lawyer files
criminal complaint against ‘pseudo law’
follower accusing Alberta judge of sedition.
National Post.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/lawyer-
files-criminal-complaint-against-pseudo-law-
follower-accusing-alberta-judge-of-sedition
Boxer jailed after trying to use the Magna Carta to
avoid council tax. (2017, May 8). The Express.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/801648/
boxer-jailed-magna-carta-avoid-council-tax-
oliver-ringmaster-pinnock
Breay, C. (2010). Magna Carta: Manuscripts and
Myths. The British Library.
a disadvantaged social stratum, ill-informed, if not
intentionally ignorant, and prone to magical rather
than reasoned thinking. These are P.T. Barnum’s
proverbial suckers.
Many MCLR adherents published communications
received from government actors, denouncing the
authors as traitors who would shortly be punished.
When reviewed, that correspondence shows polite,
careful attempts to inform and nudge MCLR adherents
onto a more productive path. Similarly, the Alberta
court decisions that responded to Phoenix were on
point, informative, detailed, and used language and
analysis that was accessible to the public and permitted
independent verification. In hindsight, officials,
institutions, and state actors did what they could. The
primary victims of the MCLR--its adherents--brought
their suffering on themselves. They chose poorly.
If, in hindsight, there was a past error, and a lesson to
be learned from the rise and implosion of the MCLR,
then that lesson is that no-one should mythologize law
and legal authority. The Magna Cartas have become
a gaudy but hollow icon in the UK common law
tradition, more a creature of myth, than anything real.
Law is a set of rules to organize and lubricate social
function, not a magical thing. Or, at least, it should not
be. Lawyers, legal academics, and judges tend to inflate
and aggrandize the law and its basis when, in truth,
“legal principles” and “legal rules” are often grounded
in deeply dubious ancient philosophies. Law is more
“state religion” than “science.” Unlike modern medicine
and science, much law is unvalidated. In that way, the
so-called absolute truths pointed to by the MCLR and
traditional legal scholarship are not so different. But
that is a problem for legal thinkers, rather than social
scientists. At least for now.
References
AVI v MHVB, 2020 ABQB 489.
https://canlii.ca/t/j9c1p
AVI v MHVB, 2020 ABQB 790.
https://canlii.ca/t/jc5m3
Badshah, N. (2021, August 17). Protesters claim to
‘seize’ Edinburgh Castle citing Magna
Carta. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/
aug/17/protesters-claim-to-seize-edinburgh-
castle-citing-magna-carta
Bar-El, Y., Durst, R., Katz, G., Zislin, J., Strauss, Z.,
&Knobler, H. (2018). Jerusalem Syndrome.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 176:1, 87-90.
Barkun, M. (2013). A Culture of Conspiracy:
Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America.
University of California Press.
Blackwell, T. (2020a, August 27). Alberta judge bars
new ‘pseudo law’ advocate who claims Magna
Carta puts her outside court’s jurisdiction.
National Post.
https://nationalpost.com/news/alberta-judge-
bars-new-pseudo-law-advocate-who-claims-
magna-carta-puts-her-outside-courts-authority
Blackwell, T. (2020b, September 3). Lawyer files
criminal complaint against ‘pseudo law’
follower accusing Alberta judge of sedition.
National Post.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/lawyer-
files-criminal-complaint-against-pseudo-law-
follower-accusing-alberta-judge-of-sedition
Boxer jailed after trying to use the Magna Carta to
avoid council tax. (2017, May 8). The Express.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/801648/
boxer-jailed-magna-carta-avoid-council-tax-
oliver-ringmaster-pinnock
Breay, C. (2010). Magna Carta: Manuscripts and
Myths. The British Library.
