Yes, people need food and education. But one of the cornerstones

In the words of Cherie Blair: “Yes, people need food and education. But one of the cornerstones of any society is a well-functioning legal system.” These words, though simple, strike with the weight of stone. They remind us that a society is not sustained by bread alone, nor by the light of learning alone, but by the steady framework of justice. For what good is food if it can be stolen without recourse? What use is education if the rights of the student are trampled without remedy? The law, rightly ordered, is the shield that protects all other blessings.

The ancients understood this truth. In the city of Athens, philosophers praised the pursuit of wisdom, and farmers sowed grain to sustain the people. But it was the laws of Solon that bound rich and poor together in common order. Without those laws, the city would have torn itself apart in faction and bloodshed. Thus, Cherie Blair’s words echo the wisdom of the ages: that while food feeds the body and education feeds the mind, it is the legal system that ensures both body and mind may thrive in peace.

Consider the fate of societies where the law has failed. In the years after the fall of the Roman Empire, cities crumbled not only because granaries were empty, but because courts stood silent. Without the protection of law, bandits ruled the roads, and the strong preyed upon the weak. Knowledge survived in monasteries, food grew in fields, yet life itself was insecure because no binding justice remained. It was only when new codes of law arose, in the form of the Magna Carta or the later common law of England, that stability returned and civilization could flourish once more.

Cherie Blair’s words also remind us that justice is not the luxury of the wealthy, but the need of all. A poor man may survive on little food and meager learning, but without law, even his small possessions may be stolen, his dignity trampled, his voice silenced. A society that feeds and teaches its people yet denies them justice is like a tree with green leaves but rotten roots: it may flourish for a season, but it cannot endure the storm.

History offers us another example in South Africa under apartheid. The people were fed, schools existed, but the legal system was bent to uphold injustice. It was only through the struggle to restore law as a true servant of justice—through the vision of Nelson Mandela and the end of racial tyranny—that society could begin to heal. This reveals the deeper meaning of Blair’s words: that a legal system must not merely exist, but must function with fairness, impartiality, and respect for the dignity of all.

The lesson for us is clear: while we must strive to feed the hungry and teach the ignorant, we must also be guardians of justice. To neglect the legal system is to allow corruption to spread, and with corruption comes the decay of every other good. In our daily lives, we must respect the rule of law, demand fairness in governance, and resist the temptation to excuse injustice for the sake of convenience or power.

So let this teaching endure: society rests upon many stones—food, education, culture, and community—but among them, the cornerstone is justice. For without it, the other stones crumble, and the structure falls. Cherie Blair’s words are not only a reminder, but a charge: to preserve, defend, and strengthen the legal system, so that all people may live with security, dignity, and hope. And remember, as the ancients taught, a city without justice is not a city at all, but a gathering of wolves.