Inalienable Rights

Freedoms that cannot be transferred to the government. In democracies, inalienable rights are also those not given by the government to citizens. Rather, these rights are endowed in every individual by virtue of birth and cannot be surrendered. They are natural rights given by God. The government cannot make laws that interfere with these rights. Inalienable rights include freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, equal protection under the law, and the right to a fair trial.

Inalienable rights are found in the American Declaration of Independence, which was adopted on July 4, 1776. In it, Thomas Jefferson stated that inalienable rights, which he called “unalienable rights,” are fundamental principles on which a democratic government is created. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

In return for these rights, citizens in a democracy are expected to cooperate with the government under the principle of the social contract. They are to give the state their loyalty, as well as participate in the mutual protection of the inalienable rights of all individuals. Those who infringe on others' inalienable rights are subject to punishment by the state.