They also dealt with the participation of the individual in the social, economic and political life of the community, including the right to elect public officials and representativesand to run for public office. In a word, they were the "rights of liberty", also known as "first generation rights" or "civil and political rights".
But now, the need was felt to recognize the "rights of equality" to improve the material conditions of the poor and most vulnerable classes of society. The set of rights which aimed at having basic needs satisfied has been called, in the last several decades, the "second generation" of rights, or
"economic, social and cultural rights". The State was now expected to deliver, not just to keep its hands off.