Democracy must protect fundamental rights, personal liberty, equal protection, and human dignity from both public and private power.

1. Freedom of Speech and Assembly

Freedom of speech, assembly, and petition are fundamental democratic rights that must be protected from both government suppression and private coercion.

No corporation, commercial entity, or other powerful private actor should be permitted to silence individuals, restrict lawful assembly, or interfere with the ability of people to organize and seek redress of grievances.

2. Freedom of the Press

A free and independent press is essential to democratic self-government and must be protected from interference by both the state and concentrated private power.

Press freedom carries a corresponding responsibility to act in good faith, to clearly distinguish fact from opinion, and to avoid the knowing publication of false or materially misleading information.

3. Hate Speech

Speech that dehumanizes or targets people for exclusion or persecution based on inherent characteristics undermines human dignity and democratic equality.

A democratic society should limit such speech when it threatens the ability of all people to participate freely and safely in public life.

4. Equal Rights

All people are entitled to equal rights and protections, and no government or private power should deny those rights or privileges to some while granting them to others.

The recognition of specific rights should not be taken to mean that other fundamental rights do not exist or are less worthy of protection.

5. Religion

Government must be expressly secular.

Individuals are free to hold, practice, or reject religion in their private lives, but religious belief, whether individual or organized, must never be used to shape legislation, public policy, or the exercise of government power over others.

6. Right to Privacy

Everyone has an inherent right to privacy, including personal autonomy, dignity, and the freedom to live their private life without unwarranted interference.

This includes the right to make intimate, personal, and bodily decisions free from coercion, surveillance, or undue influence by the state, corporations, or other private actors.

7. Informational and Digital Privacy

Individuals should control how their personal data, communications, and digital identity, including image and likeness, are collected, used, shared, or monetized.

Personal information should not be gathered, processed, or exploited without informed consent or a clearly defined and compelling public purpose. Data collection, profiling, and algorithmic use must be strictly limited, transparent, and justified by consent or a narrowly defined public need, not commercial profit or convenience.

8. Searches, Seizures, and Surveillance

People should be secure in their persons, homes, communications, data, and effects, free from unreasonable searches, seizures, or surveillance.

Intrusive searches or monitoring should occur only for specific, justified reasons, subject to independent authorization, and narrowly limited to what is necessary rather than broad or indiscriminate collection.

9. Public Service

A democratic society depends on shared responsibility. Every citizen should contribute a period of public service as a condition of full political participation.

Public service should take multiple forms, including civic, humanitarian, environmental, educational, or military service, and should include meaningful engagement beyond one’s immediate community. Exposure to other societies, cultures, and shared global challenges is an essential part of democratic maturity.

Full enfranchisement should follow the completion of this service and participation in basic civic instruction about democratic institutions and constitutional principles. Civic participation should never be conditioned on ideological conformity, testing, or discretionary judgment, and no one should be excluded on the basis of disability, health, or caregiving responsibilities; equivalent forms of service must always be available.

10. Fundamental Material Rights

Basic material security is essential to human dignity and full democratic participation.

Everyone should have access to adequate housing, sufficient food, healthcare, and meaningful education as essential conditions for participating fully in civic life. Government has an affirmative responsibility to secure these conditions without discrimination and to prevent deprivation or extreme concentrations of economic power that undermine dignity, democratic participation, or fair competition.

11. Right to Organize

Workers have the right to organize for collective representation and bargaining.

This right must be protected from retaliation, coercion, or interference by employers or the state. Collective organization is essential to economic fairness, democratic participation, and preventing the concentration of power in the workplace and the economy more broadly.

12. Due Process and the Rights of the Accused

When the state accuses someone of a crime, it must meet the highest standards of fairness. No person should be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Anyone accused of a crime has the right to a prompt and public hearing before an impartial decision-maker, to know the charges against them, to examine the evidence and witnesses presented, and to present evidence and witnesses in their own defense with the assistance of counsel. No one should be forced to testify against themselves, tried more than once for the same offense, or punished without lawful justification.

Punishment must be proportionate and humane. Excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel or degrading punishment are incompatible with justice. Property may be taken for public use only with fair compensation, and only through lawful process.

Summary

A democratic society must protect fundamental rights, personal liberty, and equal protection from both government overreach and concentrated private power. Freedom of speech, assembly, petition, and press are essential to self-government and must be shielded from suppression, coercion, and undue interference. Equal rights must apply to all people without discrimination, and government must remain expressly secular, preventing religious authority from shaping public law. Individuals have inherent rights to privacy, bodily autonomy, and control over personal data, with strict limits on surveillance, algorithmic profiling, and unreasonable searches or seizures. Workers must be free to organize for collective representation, and all accused persons are entitled to due process, proportional punishment, and humane treatment. Basic material security—including access to housing, food, healthcare, and education—is necessary for meaningful democratic participation. Public service and civic education should strengthen shared responsibility without imposing ideological conformity. These protections secure democratic legitimacy by safeguarding human dignity, limiting coercive power, and ensuring that freedom is substantive rather than merely formal.