French Revolution - Declarations of the Right of Man

14 All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.

The citizens ultimately have the right to determine the way they are being taxed.

16 (A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all.)

A society without defined laws or structure of government does not have a constitution.

6 (Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.)

All citizens are equal before the law. Each citizen should be guaranteed the same opportunity to pursue any positions or careers based on their talents.

15 (Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.)

All government workers need to have an account of what exactly they are doing.

2 (The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.)

All governments' aim is to preserve people's natural rights. The rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

3 (The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.)

All power is in the people of the nation. Nobody can abuse the power without the people's consent.

11 (The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.)

Every citizen can speak, write, and print their ideas but if they break any laws they will be punished.

17 (Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.)

Everyone has a right to their property unless it is necessary for the greater good of others to be taken away, and for that the owner will be refunded.

9 (As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall be severely repressed by law.)

Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Punishment is determined only according to the crime and its harshness.

4 (Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.)

Liberty is the freedom to do anything as long as it doesn't harm anything or anyone. One's liberty ends where another's begins. The limits can only be set by the law.

1 (Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.)

People are free and equal to one another. They are only separated if it is for the general good.

7 (No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.)

People cannot be arrested and punished without a just cause. He who broke the law has a right to a speedy trial without delays.

10 (No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.)

People have their freedom of speech, including freedom of religion, as long as they don't disturb the public and break any laws.

8 (The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense.)

Punishment should not be inflicted unless it is necessary. Consequences for a crime must not extend beyond rational boundaries.

13 (A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means.)

Taxes are needed for maintaining the government, police, etc. How much is paid is in proportion to how much someone earns.

12 (The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted.)

The military's job is to protect the people and it shouldn't be taken advantage of.

5 (Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.)

Unless prohibited by the law, people are allowed to engage in whatever activities they desire. Likewise, no one can be forced to do activities not required by the law.