The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Published: 26 Aug. 2025, 00:06

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Roh Jung-tae

The author is a writer and a senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

On July 14, 1789, the storming of the Bastille in Paris signaled the start of the French Revolution. Weeks later, on Aug. 26, the National Constituent Assembly — formed after breaking away from the Estates General convened by King Louis XVI — issued a declaration embodying the spirit of the revolution. It was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Article 1 proclaimed that men are born free and equal in rights. Article 2 elaborated on those natural and inalienable rights: liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression. The text declared that all political associations exist to preserve such rights. Article 3 established the principle of popular sovereignty, affirming that national sovereignty resides in the people and that no individual or group may exercise authority not derived from them. Across its 17 articles, the declaration gave concrete form to what we now recognize as modern human rights.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen [WIKIPEDIA]

Its content did not emerge in a vacuum. It reflected the Enlightenment’s intellectual legacy. The separation of powers came from Montesquieu, while the principle of natural rights drew from the Encyclopedists and John Locke. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s theories of the general will and popular sovereignty were embedded in its language. The idea that individuals must be shielded from arbitrary policing and judicial practices echoed Voltaire. The doctrine of the inviolability of property reflected the views of the Physiocrats. The declaration also drew from U.S. sources, including the Declaration of Independence and the constitutions of Virginia, New Hampshire and other states. It was the product of simultaneous human rights revolutions in France and the United States, which spread across the world together.

Yet today there is growing concern that an age of prioritizing national interests over universal principles has returned. In an era where countries increasingly emphasize their own citizens and economic gains first, the universalist ideals of the Enlightenment risk being overlooked. The Declaration of 1789 reminds us of a vision in which human dignity and rights were upheld as shared values, not bounded by geography or politics. Recalling that spirit may be essential to addressing the challenges of our own time.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.