The
Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution also represent important milestones in the limiting of governmental power. The earliest use of the term
limited government dates back to
King James VI and I in the late 16th century. Scholar Steven Skultety argues that although
Aristotle never developed principles and tactics of constitutionalism, Aristotle's political philosophy in some ways anticipated the idea of limited government, primarily as a tool for limiting civic distrust and enhancing stability.
John Locke, a liberal philosopher, was an important theorist of modern democratic government. Writing in his
Two Treatises of Government, Locke reasoned that men living in a
state of nature would voluntarily join in a
social contract, forming a "commonwealth" or government. Locke further reasoned that the powers of the government had to be restricted to only what the people allowed it to do. He cites four specific limitations on government power. Locke's first limitation specified that governments could only govern according to
promulgated established laws, and that all people were
equal under the law, regardless of their material or social status, and Locke's second limitation held that laws could only be designed in the name of the
common good (2nd Tr., § 136). His third limitation repeated the principle of
no taxation without representation, arguing that, "[governments] must not raise taxes on the property of the people, without the consent of the people, given by themselves, or their deputies" (2nd Tr., § 142). Finally, Locke argued in his fourth limitation that the legislature could not
delegate law-making authority to any other power without the people's consent (2nd Tr., § 141). When limited government is put into practice, it often involves the protection of individual liberty from government intrusion. According to
The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index which measures adherence to the rule of law in 140 countries and jurisdictions around the globe, checks on government powers eroded in 58% of countries measured from 2021 to 2022. ==Issues==