French Revolution: Individual Rights, National Sovereignty, and the Rise of Modern Freedom
Revolutions and Doctrines of Freedom
The culture of freedom emerging from revolutions is often individualistic and contractarian. Revolutions, to varying degrees, place the individual at the center of the legal system as a subject of law and owner of rights. This applies to both civil liberties (the “negative” rights, creating a space of autonomy from public authorities) and political freedoms (the “positive” rights).
Individualism can lead to economic privatism, where the political foundation is solely a security agreement between individual owners. Furthermore, this individualism and contractarianism can make public institutions overly reliant on the variable willingness of individual citizens.
Ideally, sovereign public power should be strong and enduring, transcending the individual wills of those who establish or exercise it.
1. The French Revolution
Timeline
- 1789 (August 20-26): Adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
- 1791 (September 13): The Constitution comes into effect.
- 1792 (August 10): Fall of the monarchy.
- 1793 (January 21): Execution of the king. (October 10): Proclamation of the revolutionary government.
- 1794 (July 27): Fall of Robespierre.
The French Revolution’s culture of freedom combined individualistic and contractarian elements with statist ones. The Declaration of Rights of 1789 highlights two key values: the individual and the law as an expression of national sovereignty.
Article 2 states: “The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man.” Article 3 adds: “The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the Nation. No corporate body, no individual may exercise any authority that does not proceed expressly therefrom.”
Individual natural rights and national sovereignty are presented as outcomes of the same historical process, liberating individuals from old bonds and public authority from feudal influences.
The concentration of power in the legislature, interpreting the general will, ensures that power is exercised only on behalf of the general law. The word “law” in the Declaration limits freedoms while assuring individuals they are bound only by the legislature’s authority.
Article 5 states: “Anything not prohibited by law may not be prevented, and no one may be compelled to do what the law does not ordain.” This emphasizes the law’s power to prohibit, prevent, bind, and organize.
The French Revolution’s philosophy of freedom and rights contrasted radically with the old regime, rejecting privilege and particularism in favor of individual rights and national sovereignty.
This philosophy faced challenges in 1789. The French constituents couldn’t simply reform the monarchy like the English Glorious Revolution. The 1791 Constitution rejected an absolute veto for the king, opting for a suspensive veto exercised by the executive, which was weakened by the Constitution.
Furthermore, the French constituents couldn’t incorporate an aristocratic element like the British bicameral system. The Revolution rejected a bicameral system based on balancing aristocratic and democratic elements.
The French Revolution’s approach prioritized expressing and representing the sovereignty of the people or nation, creating a unified civil society with a constitutional political will.
The Declaration of 1789 emphasizes pre-state individual natural rights (Articles 1 and 2) and property as an “inviolable and sacred right” (Article 17). Article 16 defines the “guarantee of rights” as the essence of any political system.