what is limited government

what is limited government

Understanding the Concept of Limited Government

1. Introduction to Limited Government

Their decisions were based on both the inherent limitations of constitutional government that had emerged from the state constitutions and the fear that the Constitution itself might limit the people’s rights and lead to the creation of a tyrannical majority. We will examine the concept of divided and limited government, the fundamental ideas that the Framers believed gave rise to actual limitations, and several of the specific liberties that the Bill of Rights, as well as additional amendments, protect against majoritarian encroachment. But first, we must consider the alternative, unlimited government, against which the theory of limited government is posed.

The Constitution is premised on a theory of limited government. By empowering the people and binding their representatives with a written constitution, the framers intended to limit the authority of government. The Constitution also imposes limits on the powers of the federal and state governments by creating a popularly based federal system and dividing governmental powers among three independent branches. The Founders designed a government that could act forcefully and decisively in the face of crises but that would, in the day-to-day exercise of its powers, remain subject to the will of the governed.

2. Historical Origins and Development

Although many societies have been burdened with rulers who abused their power and violated the rights of citizens, the concept of limited government did not fully emerge until the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The principle of limited government can be traced back to the Magna Carta, which English nobles forced King John to sign in 1215, and to the Petition of Right, adopted by the English Parliament in 1628. Both the Magna Carta and the Petition of Right, however, sought merely to restrict the king’s power and to protect the traditional (limited) rights of the English nobility; they did not extend any rights or limitations to ordinary citizens. It was left to the publicists of the Enlightenment, who proclaimed that certain rights are inherent in human beings, not dependent on temporary privileges granted by a ruler, to develop the philosophy behind the idea of government limitations. They proposed that government should be limited so that its power could not endanger a person’s natural rights, including life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.

3. Key Principles and Characteristics

2. An Independently-Enforced Legal Order. Linked to the idea of the rule of law, and of major importance to the validity of the principle, is the extent to which government officials actually are limited in their actions by and according to a legal code. Is there a series of abstract principles under which government actions are to be scrutinized, or are the rules of behavior so unpredictable and constantly changing that arbitrary actions are often taken? In the first case one speaks of an independently-enforced legal order, and it is thought to be one of the key foundations for the establishment and perpetuation of limited government.

1. The Rule of Law. Most important to a government which is to be limited in power is the idea that the law or constitution is the basis for authority, and that all exercise of power is subordinate to the law. If this idea is taken seriously, no person or official in government may act in a way which disrespects the law or violates the law’s provisions. This feature is often referred to as the idea of the rule of law.

The concept of limited government also involves certain characteristics found in governments governed by laws rather than the whims of individual rulers or in those controlled by a small ruling elite. While each such characteristic does not have to be present in equal force for a government to be classified as a limited one, the more that are present, the more a government can be viewed as limited.

Characteristics of Limited Government

4. Benefits and Challenges of Limited Government

However, limiting government and fostering a reliance on free market forces or community efforts can lead to other types of problems. Individuals often cannot tackle large-scale or systemic problems because regulating a market to prevent fraud, facilitate commerce, encourage invention and research, or protect the environment involves significant cost that is beyond the scope of individuals or businesses acting on their own. Accordingly, a government with the power to act as an “umpire” to set the rules of economic transactions becomes crucial. The existence of government regulations creates another set of challenges because: 1) individual agencies and governments tend to regulate to benefit special interests; 2) the process of regulation may have adverse economic consequences; and 3) even when necessary, government regulations may have negative effects on non-economic values that the producers and consumers of goods and services experience.

The concept of limited government brings several benefits, including fostering a sense of personal responsibility linked to improved individual and community ability to tackle various social and/or economic problems. Government reductions not only free individuals from the oppressive hand of government but also free individuals from personal responsibilities. The interconnectedness of individual responsibility with limited government moves the community to take over some functions that the government can no longer accommodate. The intimate involvement of individuals and their communities with their own social and economic issues, and a sense of responsibility to solve those problems, empowers the community to think of workable local solutions.