• In a representative government, the people exert their authority indirectly, through legislative agents. For example, in the limited constitutional republic envisioned by most early liberal thinkers, including America's founders, elected legislators are not vested with unlimited authority, but may enact laws only in accordance with the constitution. In a free society governed by this representative principle, government is the moral embodiment of the idea of social contract. Its authority is limited not only by a written constitution but also by the socially accepted ethical principle of non-initiation of force. Representative government may also take less benign forms. For instance, if moral respect for the constitution and individual rights has been sufficiently eroded, as in the present-day United States, legislators may act as de facto representatives of pressure groups, thus realizing rule by special interests. In principle, elected representatives may even exercise totalitarian power, although this form of government is highly unstable, tending quickly to evolve into autocracy.

Alternatively, ultimate political authority may be concentrated in one or a few persons. Conceivably, that authority might be exercised "benevolently" by an "enlightened despot," like Plato's philosopher-king; in principle, such a leader might even seek to uphold individual rights. As the founders were well aware, however, freedom was unlikely to flourish under even relatively wise rulers, such as Frederick II in Prussia and Catherine II in Russia. In practice, centralized political authorities almost invariably impose their own personal values upon their subjects, even when they see themselves as guided by lofty ideals; consequently, we may describe this form of government as autocracy.     

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