In the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, issued in 1789, the document states that "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights." While reading this phrase, another phrase in the Declaration of Independence of 1776 seemed to mirror this, "All men are created equal." Although these two phrases seem similar, they express two very different ideas. While the French maintain that all men remain equal in rights, Americans maintain that all men are merely created equal, yet may not remain equal. This expresses a much more radical stance on France's part, which is not surprising considering the overall more radical revolution that occurred in France as opposed to in America.
Another phrase in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen states that mankind's natural rights are "liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression." As you may have guessed, this reflects a phrase in the inalienable rights that is stated in America's Declaration of Independence: the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Although both statements are similar in that they both have the guarantee of life in them, the wording in these phrases are different yet again. While the French guarantee property and security, the Americans merely guarantee the pursuit of happiness. In saying this, the French guarantee something that all men are naturally given, while the Americans merely recognize the pursuit of happiness, which may include the pursuit of property and security. These two ideas reflect another difference in stances between France and the United States.
Although it may be a stretch, these comparisons reminded me of the ideals of France and America in modern times. America remains a very capitalistic country, while France has drifted toward some socialist ideals. This may be as a result of the statements made at the core of its values, especially the ones described above. In both statements, France expresses concrete rights that are given to man, as in socialism, as opposed to American rights which do not guarantee any lasting thing except for life and liberty, but rather the ability to obtain things, as in capitalism. Do you agree that these core values led to modern differences regarding capitalism and socialism?
Overall, do you agree with the guarantees mentioned in the American declaration, in the French declaration? In my opinion, I believe that the American guarantees are more accurate, because I do not believe that people remain equal, because of differences in upbringing and people may achieve in life. Instead, I believe that people have equal opportunity in their pursuit of equality, which is similar to the American ideals about the pursuit of happiness listed above.
^Original document of the Declaration of Independence
http://www.founding.com/repository/imgLib/20071018_declaration.jpg
>Original document of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
http://www.dreyfus.culture.fr/upload/m_file/555_1064_image_dafanch01_pc45003489_2.jpg
Lainey,
ReplyDeleteI like the connection--it's hard to know if 200-plus years on is too much of a stretch, but it's possible you're picking up on the roots of some long-standing differences. And in fact, modern socialism definitely has strong French roots.