Limited government

Lore & Background

The earliest use of the term 'limited government' dates back to King James VI and I in the late 16th century. The Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution represent important milestones in limiting governmental power. Scholar Steven Skultety argues that Aristotle's political philosophy in some ways anticipated the idea of limited government, primarily as a tool for limiting civic distrust and enhancing stability, though Aristotle never developed principles and tactics of constitutionalism. John Locke, a liberal philosopher, was an important theorist of modern democratic government. In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke reasoned that men in a state of nature would voluntarily form a government via social contract, and that government powers must be restricted to only what the people allow. He cites four specific limitations: government must govern according to promulgated established laws with equality under the law; laws must be designed for the common good; no taxation without representation; and the legislature cannot delegate law-making authority without the people's consent. When limited government is put into practice, it often involves protecting individual liberty from government intrusion.

Reader's Guide

Limited government is closely associated with constitutions and constitutionalism. The U.S. James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 51 that security against concentration of powers requires giving each department constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments. Amy Gutmann notes that negative liberalism, positive liberalism, and democratic liberalism advance different conceptions of proper limits to government. She defends democratic liberalism, arguing that government should be no more nor less limited than needed to secure basic liberties and opportunities for all, and to respect fair democratic procedures consistent with constitutional constraints. The concept remains central to debates about the proper scope of state authority.

Did You Know?

• The earliest use of the term 'limited government' dates back to King James VI and I in the late 16th century.
• John Locke specified four limitations on government power in his Two Treatises of Government.
• The U.S. Constitution achieved limited government through both horizontal separation of powers and vertical separation of powers (federalism).