and universality which … had to be extended
to all sorts and degrees of men.
Once in place, the notion of the rule of law not only kept
absolutism at bay but also created a type of virtuous circle:
if the laws applied equally to everybody, then no individual
or group, not even Cadogan or Walpole, could rise above
the law, and common people accused of encroaching on
private property still had the right to a fair trial.
W E SAW HOW INCLUSIVE economic and political institutions
emerge. But why do they persist over time? The history of
the Black Act and the limits to its implementation illustrate
the virtuous circle, a powerful process of positive feedback
that preserves these institutions in the face of attempts at
undermining them and, in fact, sets in motion forces that
lead to greater inclusiveness. The logic of virtuous circles
stems partly from the fact that inclusive institutions are
based on constraints on the exercise of power and on a
pluralistic distribution of political power in society,
enshrined in the rule of law. The ability of a subset to
impose its will on others without any constraints, even if
those others are ordinary citizens, as Huntridge was,
threatens this very balance. If it were temporarily
suspended in the case of the peasants protesting against
elites encroaching on their communal lands, what was there
to guarantee that it would not be suspended again? And
the next time it was suspended, what would prevent the
Crown and aristocracy from taking back what the
merchants, businessmen, and the gentry had gained in the
intervening half century? In fact, the next time it was
suspended, perhaps the entire project of pluralism would
come crumbling down, because a narrow set of interests
would take control at the expense of the broad coalition.
The political system would not risk this. But this made
pluralism, and the rule of law that it implied, persistent
features of British political institutions. And we will see that
once pluralism and the rule of law were established, there
would be demand for even greater pluralism and greater
participation in the political process.
The virtuous circle arises not only from the inherent logic
of pluralism and the rule of law, but also because inclusive