MODULE 1.16
Absolutism
Absolutism is a political doctrine that asserts the complete and unchecked power of a monarch, as seen in the reign of Louis XIV of France, who famously declared, "L'état, c'est moi" ("I am the state"), signifying his total control over the government and its affairs.
Absolutism, while not exclusively referring to monarchical rule, is most commonly associated with royal absolutism, particularly in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. This era saw the height of absolutist thought, especially in France, with key figures like Jean Bodin, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, and Louis XIV at the forefront. The term "absolutism" itself entered the political lexicon only in the eighteenth century, a period also marked by the rise of enlightened absolutism. At its core, absolutism posits the absence of any limits to royal power, asserting the idea of an unchecked, supreme monarch.
Absolutism is not primarily a theory concerning the origins of royal power; rather, it focuses on the scope of that power. While absolutist arguments were frequently aligned with the doctrine of the divine right of kings, they could also coexist with certain forms of contractarianism. The roots of absolutist thought, much like those of constitutionalism or limited government, can be traced to the discussions of canonists and Romanists regarding papal and imperial authority. Essentially, absolutism asserts that royal authority is complete and independent, bound only by divine and natural law, but not by human-made laws. Under this doctrine, subjects are obliged to obey the monarch’s commands, so long as these commands align with divine law, and are not permitted to resist the sovereign’s power.
Institutionally, absolutism sought to liberate royal power from any form of oversight or subordination to other human powers, including subjects, estates, parliaments, the nobility, or the church. However, absolutists also drew a crucial distinction between absolute royal power and arbitrary, despotic, or tyrannical rule. A legitimate monarch, according to this doctrine, respects the property of subjects and the fundamental laws of the land—although these laws were often interpreted in ways that bolstered royal authority. Thomas Hobbes represents an extreme form of this absolutist thinking, pushing the boundaries of its conceptual framework.
To fully understand absolutism, it is essential to consider its emergence in the context of the rise of the modern state within the European system of states. By the fifteenth century, national monarchies began invoking legal maxims such as princeps legibus solutus est (The prince is not bound by the laws) and rex imperator in regno suo est (The king is emperor in his own kingdom), challenging the universalist claims of the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. The notion of sovereignty, which has become central to modern political thought, was not systematically addressed until Bodin’s work. Therefore, it is crucial to connect the development of absolutism to the rise of raison d'état (reason of state) and the ideas of political thinkers like Machiavelli, who laid the groundwork for understanding the state's authority and the role of the sovereign within it.