Free Political Constitutions Essay Sample

A constitution created prior to the formation of the fundamental principles of the land is a fool’s work. Laws are usually formed because of a lacuna in society or by the prediction of a future problem. Joseph de Maistre postulates that the base law of any nation should not be done without being supported by principles that are generally accepted by the people who will be subject to the laws in question (de Maistre).
Considerable reference will be made to the development of the political structure of England and the causes of it. The whole point of having the superior law of the land is to safeguard the rights and interests of the people. To ensure this, the base law of the land is made in such a way as to ensure that it cannot be altered by the powerful in society to the advantage of a few. Joseph de Maistre argues that a law that is meant to be untouchable by man should not and cannot be created by man. Society erred in thinking that it was their mandate to create laws. Their job is to acknowledge the laws made by the Divine.
There were several alterations to the document over the years but the three mentioned principles have been ingrained in the Laws of England and have been recognized internationally through the promulgation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Magna Carta was the result of an attempt to deal with dissatisfaction various Barons had with the King’s military failures.
The Magna Carta was not the work of one man or a few years. It was a result of political tension that had built up over several years, as well as a drop in confidence in the ruler at that time. In other words, the inhabitants of England established it to deal with a nationwide problem and to promulgate principles that were widely acceptable.
As a result of some of the poor people on the train discovering the difference in lifestyles of people on the train, a revolt ensues. One of the main objectives of the revolution was to find the creator of the political system and to install a new leader, to do away with the squalor they have been living in. The political system was very effective for as long as the poor were oblivious to the lack of parity in lifestyles.
In Snow piercer, the political system is created by one man in secrecy, most of the occupants of the train are unaware of the wealthy people living on the train. Wilford, the creator of the monarchy, and Gilliam, his assistant, wanted to ensure the population on the train was under control. There was conflict between Wilford and Gilliam, which resulted in the latter’s death. Their political system was dependent on the ignorance of the rear occupants of the train. The fault in their plan was that they tried to create laws based on human reasoning. This is in contravention of de Maistre’s opinion that laws should not be based on human reasoning.
The collapse of the monarchy in Snow piercer was initiated by the questioning of laws. The rear occupants of the train were not satisfied with the disparity of lifestyles on the train. They had resorted to cannibalism while on the contrary there were other occupants enjoying three-course meals. According to Joseph de Maistre’s work, they should not have put into question the validity or fairness of the laws. Human reasoning on laws will only result in wars and rebellions
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Works Cited

de Maistre, John. The Generative Principle of Political Constitutions. Transaction Publishers, 2011. Print.
Snowpiercer. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Perf. Chris Evans, Kang-ho Song and Tilda Swinton. 2009. Online.