Political freedom

Political rights, as a rule, include the following rights and freedoms (in alphabetical order):

• equality before the law - lack of estates;
• freedom of religion - the right to profess any religion or not to profess any;
• freedom of conscience - the right to form one’s beliefs;
• freedom of speech and press - prohibition of censorship;
• freedom of assembly - the right to hold meetings both indoors and outdoors;
• freedom of union - the right to form unions without asking permission;
• freedom of strikes ;
• petition law .

This list is not complete and comprehensive ^[1] .

Although political freedoms are usually enshrined in regulatory legal acts of the supreme legal force of the state, there can be a “huge distance” between the proclamation of rights and freedoms and their conscious realization.

Man himself must be prepared for the conscious exercise of these rights and freedoms. Therefore, the political culture of a person plays an important role, that is, the ability to make political choices, find a compromise, reach consensus, understand the possibility and legitimacy of conscious actions in each specific situation.

In a legal society, unlike a totalitarian society, only legal freedom can exist. However, freedom, not supported by law and implementation practices, can turn into its opposite - arbitrariness, tyranny, violence.

Two aspects are identified in the definition of political freedom. The first - negative - freedom from coercion and pressure of the state in relation to a person, the second - positive - the purpose of granting freedom (for what? Why?). In the latter sense, political freedom is presented as an opportunity to reveal the potential of the individual in the relationship between the individual, layers of society and the state.

The first discussions of political freedoms are found in Aristotle's “Politics”, where he discusses the contradictions between the category of “freedom” and the democratic form of government.

The first partial reflection in the legislation of political freedoms is found (although without using this term) in the English Magna Carta in 1215 .

In the future, important milestones on the way of formalizing this concept and its classification were the English Bill of Rights , adopted in 1689 , the French “ Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights ” of 1789 and the American Bill of Rights of 1791 .

In the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, the situation with political freedoms in different states develops differently. The initial liberal set of civil and political rights (freedom and equality, suffrage, etc.) is still, in the modern sense, very limited (property voting qualifications, political prohibitions, inequality of men and women, racial restrictions, etc.).

Only after the Second World War did a qualitative leap in the development of the institution of human rights and citizen take place, the leading role in the development of which is acquired by international law . On December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the " Universal Declaration of Human Rights ." In 1950, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was signed in Europe, creating a real- life mechanism for protecting declared rights - the European Court of Human Rights . In 1966, under the auspices of the UN, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were adopted. These and subsequent documents approved the international standard of human and civil rights and guarantees for ensuring these rights with a view to incorporation (reflection) in the constitutional system of the participating states.

There is a significant difference in the understanding of “true” political freedoms by different philosophical schools and political movements.

The left classifies such freedom from poverty, hunger, incurable diseases, etc., however, liberal liberal politicians, in particular Friedrich August von Hayek and Milton Friedman , object to such abuse of the concept ^{[2] [3] [4]} . Anarchists have their own opinion on this, calling the freedom supported by the capitalists “selfish” ^[5] .

Some people view political freedoms as synonymous with democracy , while others find significant differences between the two.

Environmentalists argue that political freedoms should include restrictions on the use of ecosystems.

There are many philosophical discussions about the nature of political freedom, the various types of freedoms, and the degree to which freedom is desired. For example, determinists argue that all human actions are predetermined in advance and, therefore, freedom is an illusion, and Isaiah Berlin highlighted the differences between the negative and positive sides of political freedom.

To date, discussions are ongoing, and the meaning of the term, its nature, and its constituents is continuously being refined.

One of the foundations of the constitutional system in the Russian Federation is the recognition of a person, his rights and freedoms as the highest value enshrined in the Constitution ^[7] . The state is assigned an obligation - the recognition, observance and protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. It is in the Constitution of Russia that many political human rights and freedoms are enshrined: the right to participate in the management of state and public affairs, to equal access to public and public posts; the right to association, including the right to create trade unions to protect their interests; freedom of activity of public associations is guaranteed; the right to participate in peaceful gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, street processions and pickets; guarantee of freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, etc.

• freedom
• Right
• Rights and freedoms of man and citizen

• Fundamentals of International Law
• United Nations Official Website
• Section of international law on the UN website
• Official site of the United Nations International Court of Justice
• POLITICAL FREEDOM: EXPERIENCE OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS , N. Basenko, T. Milevskaya
• Political freedom and welfare (inaccessible link) , A. N. Illarionov
• RBC ranking of countries by level of political freedom in 2012