Absolutism and Limited Government

Absolutism and Limited Government Thomas Hobbes and John Locke set up the basis for the two major forms of government in the 17th century. Hobbes believed that the only successful government would be an absolute monarchy. Locke believed in a limited monarchy form of government. Both of these systems were practiced over many years preceding their writings. The purpose of their writings was to explain why those forms of government are legitimate. Both theories begin …

…of the king. William and Mary accept the crown and accept the limited monarchy. In practice both absolute monarchy and limited monarchy are flawed. An absolute monarchy has no protection for its citizens. A complete democracy in the hands of the people is too weak to attain necessary goals. The major problem with the theories is that they take both concepts to the extreme. The solution seems to lie within a compromise of the two.