We can properly state that Modernity was born when a set of unalienable rights were recognised to the individual as a human being, independent of their social status, political hue or religious confession. During the XVI and XVII centuries Europe bled in the wars which faced the different creeds of the same religion: Catholic and Reformed. For this reason the first right- the first conquest- of Modernity was the right of conscience, which stated that nobody could impose on any other in what -or in who- he or she had to believe.

This first right which avoided death and murder for faith reasons was followed by other rights: the right of expression of one self’s opinion, the freedom of assembly and association, the right to property and to one self’s safety, etc. This rights take written form for the first time in the United States of America Declaration of Independence (4th July 1776) and mainly in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (26th August 1789), proclaimed at the very beginning of the French Revolution.

These were the first rights to be gained and for this reason they are known as first-generation rights. They are the essential ones as they ensure civil and political freedom of individuals against an arbitrary power as well as the freedom to participate in public affairs. During the XIX and XX century new rights - known as second and third generation rights- joined to the first rights - these are the rights to healthcare, housing, work, education, etc. All them together shape the legal background where our democracies are based on and which inspired- at least until recently- the Welfare State.