| | I suspect "limited" arises from the longtime attempt to curtail the powers of monarchs. So the movement from absolute to constitutional monarchies is seen as progress toward liberty. The constitution, in turn, was seen as limiting the powers of the monarch and, thus, of government. The precise terms of such limitation were not spelled out except here and there, e.g., in the Magna Carta and especially in the American Bill of Rights. Arguably it is not the size of government that had been of concern but its scope, which is still so.
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