Modern science, medicine, political freedom, the market economy, all of them were told

are the result of a sort of miracle that took place 250 years ago.

That miracle is called the Enlightenment, a moment in history when philosophers suddenly

overthrew religious dogma and tradition and replaced it with human reason.

Harvard professor Stephen Pinker puts it this way, progress is a gift of the ideals of

the Enlightenment.

There's just one problem with this claim.

It isn't really true.

Consider the US Constitution, which is frequently said to be a product of Enlightenment thought.

But you only need to read about English common law, which Alexander Hamilton and James

Madison certainly did, to see that this isn't so.

Already in the 15th century, the English jurist John Fordescue elaborated the theory of

checks and balances, due process, and the role of private property in securing individual

freedom and economic prosperity.

Similarly, the US Bill of Rights has its sources in English common law of the 1600s, or

consider modern science and medicine.

Long before the Enlightenment, tradition-bound English King sponsored path-breaking scientific

institutions such as the Royal College of Physicians founded in 1518, and the Royal Society

of London founded in 1660.

The truth is that statesmen and philosophers, especially in England and the Netherlands,

articulated the principles of free government centuries before America was founded.

So why give the Enlightenment all the credit?

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