Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen: Thomas Aquinas

    Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen: Thomas Aquinas

      Hidden within the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen is the idea that citizens have the right to start a revolution if their government isn't treating them fairly—which is a pretty bombastic statement to make.

      Remember that the Declaration blames all France's problems on the corruption of the monarchy and the National Assembly is trying to do something about it. This idea of fighting against tyranny comes from a 13th-century saint named Thomas Aquinas. He said it was okay to curb the powers of a monarch in order to avoid oppression, which by the way is not very Christian.

      Aquinas was kinda one of the first people to start asking kings WWJD. According to him, Jesus said not to become a dictator and take advantage of your power. We think that's probably good advice.