Venezuela’s constitution makes mention of the word social nine times, and sociedad, or society, fifteen more. Neither word appears in the United States Constitution. “Society fortifies the individuals who comprise it,” Venezuela’s constitution stated, and makes possible the “enjoyment of life, liberty, property and other natural rights.” The constitution provided a series of checks and balances not just to moderate the government, but individualism as well. “The establishment of society presupposes the renunciation of the dangerous right to unlimited freedom,” the text read, in exchange for the acquisition of “other, sweeter and more peaceful rights” that come from living in harmony with others. Venezuelans even previewed what later would be called social rights, mandating that the government not just stand down to protect freedoms inherent in individuals but stand up to take action that nurtures the commonweal: “Because governments are constituted for the common good and happiness of men, society must provide aid to the destitute and unfortunate and education to all citizens.” True freedom, the constitution argued, “means the renunciation of unlimited and licentious freedom,” which easily leads to anarchy, where everyone pursues their “private passions in a savage state.” The echo is clear of Las Casas’s and Mendieta’s belief that New World freedom turned Spanish colonists into beasts, ferocious animals despoiling all.

— America, América by Greg Grandin