limited government definition

limited government definition

Exploring the Concept of Limited Government

1. Introduction to Limited Government

Do we fully understand the extensive ramifications of this wealth of experience acting within the structural limitations of our federal government? To a degree, it is so well established and so deeply embedded in our political thinking that its dynamic spirit is taken for granted. As a central force in our history, limited governance, embodied in our political and civil institutions, has helped create the most successful society the world has ever known. Its appearance on the world scene with the establishment of the American republic began an era that opened new dimensions for all mankind. Its obvious success has generated much philosophical inquiry, as well as bitter disagreement over ideology. The profound questions have no simple answers. It is the thesis of this paper that the restrictions placed on our federal institutions, emerging from both the doctrines of our natural political tradition and the structural limitations embodied in the Constitution, were permitted to flourish and evolve in the environment of federalism. The promise of the many elements of cultural and intellectual diversity that could assure the fruits of liberty appealed to the public at large.

Limited government is a core concept in the political tradition held by a majority of American citizens. They embrace this concept not because they have studied deeply its philosophical underpinnings, but because they are convinced that their rights and liberties as citizens are protected only by a system of governance that is held in check by the rule of law. People are convinced of the need for this limitation and it has become “an unquestioned truth” that “all political theorists must respect.” Limited government has served America well. It has made possible a more prosperous, more secure, and more generous life. It is the fountainhead of our freedom.

2. Historical Origins and Evolution of Limited Government

While ancient Greece evolved a limited government structure, the city-state of ancient Rome “is better known for giving birth to a legal structure with principles and framework for modern limited government conduct.”… This can probably happen because the Roman people placed a limit on the power of the officials in their government with the adoption of the “Going to Rome” basic legal principles. The concept of limited government has been embedded in human thought for centuries. During the first century CE, the Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca the Younger reiterated that freedom in a commonwealth grows in the protection of its laws.

Limited government finally reached fruition, however, in ancient Greece. Under the Metonic cycle (sometimes the so-called “Era of Solon”), every year marked a different archon, or chief magistrate. To ensure there was a harsher offense against the law, the fourth-century statesman Aeschines reasoned that daily reckoning by the official for his action is more effective when it comes to maintaining discipline. Also, enforcement of these statutes by attachment to fixed dates eliminates the vindictive outrage in the system of first-class dispositions. For state officials, the laws could have been easily dodged or ignored if strong restrictions were not in place.

…The concept of limited government extends back to early Judeo-Christian civilization when the Hebrew country of Israel began to put in place a government limited by codified law. This limitation is underscored in the second book of Samuel when Israel is asking for a king to rule over them and Samuel held a “procession of justice” outside the palace of King Saul as an “edifying example” of the law’s constraints and its continuance through judicial independence.

3. Key Principles and Characteristics of Limited Government

The term limited government, as we understand it today, has many different interpretations and meanings, and it goes beyond classical political theory to be representative of the understanding by many that the concept was important enough to be inscribed for posterity in the form of a written constitution. It is a principle found in various different political arrangements and found in thought, mechanical study, and practice, with numerous modifications along the way to fit changing circumstances. There are principles unique to limited government, which identify limited government; and they collectively shape its framework. Such principles are public control, divided power, written constitution, rule of law, equal justice, and non-arbitrariness.

The principles and characteristics of limited government, even at the outset, are the foundation for the American Republic, and they find their roots in ancient political theory and through the writings of philosophers such as Aristotle and Cicero. As Madison has expressed in Federalist 10, men are political animals, and they will always assemble together over common concerns, forming governments as a mechanism to express themselves. Aristotle warns: “Over and above all of these considerations, the true and the best people should rule, or the next thing to the true and best.” The structure of government is of utmost importance to ensure its limited role, and to guarantee that it exists at the will and consent of the governed.

4. Contemporary Applications and Challenges of Limited Government

The concept of limited government has a rich history that has been applied to very diverse state forms and political regimes. It has also been widely credited with a number of significant achievements associated with contemporary liberal societies. Limited government has been successful most of all in putting constraints on political authority and the exercise of state power. It has proven more effective in containing political conflict and the use of coercive force to resolve disputes over values. Consequently, all types of political power are today subject to some defined institutional limitations that can be defended and justified by resort to procedural, moral, ethical, and religious principles, albeit they lack any grounding in the fact of state power and the enforcement of particular laws and public policy. Limited government has contributed to the diffusion of political power, at both the personal and collective levels, within modern society. It has extended political participation and popular political control with the formal institutions of government, changed the practice of representative government, at least in theory, and made government more directly responsive to various group interests.

The concept of limited government is not confined to the historical experience of the early modern period of state development. It was re-articulated in the modern period, especially from the 17th through the 19th centuries, as theorists began more systematically to define and propose institutional restrictions on political authority and the exercise of state power. The idea of limited government as it is most commonly understood today thus represents both a concept developed historically and applied effectively in the early modern period and a theoretical construct elaborated on later.