Freedom stands for everyone’s right to live their own lives and make their own choices. It also stands for freedom from fear, insecurity, and deprivation. Without social rights like these, freedom would remain a meaningless dead letter. To implement freedom of the individual, a society and joint structures are needed.

Genuine freedom arises from equality. In an unequal society, freedom only extends to the strong. Human dignity is equal for everyone, and thus everyone should have equal opportunities to build their lives and to contribute to society. Diversity is a source of richness but inequality is an injustice. Poverty, excessive income disparities, and discrimination are examples of threats to equality, and they must be abolished.

The third core value, solidarity, also stands for a sense of community. We are dependent on one another, and together we are more than the sum of our parts. Also responsibility for our fellow human beings and for the environment go hand in hand with solidarity. We must make sure so that our fellow human beings – and future generations, too – have the chance to live a good and decent life. Solidarity rejects egoism and self-interest but values everyone’s individuality.