AI overview
Absolutism is a form of government where a single ruler, typically a monarch, holds all or nearly all political power with little to no checks on their authority. It matters because it represents a fundamental approach to organizing political power that shaped many historical societies and contrasts sharply with democratic systems that distribute power among multiple branches and institutions.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
King Louis XIV of France, often considered by historians as an archetype of absolutism Absolutism or the Age of Absolutism (c. 1610 – c. 1789) is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites. The term 'absolutism' is typically used in conjunction with some European monarchs during the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and monarchs described as absolute can especially be found in the 16th century through the 19th century with several notable and important Medieval precursors. Absolutism is characterized by the ending of feudal partitioning, consolidation of power with the monarch, rise of state power, unification of the state laws, and a decrease in the influence of the church and the nobility.
Rady argues absolutism was a term applied post-hoc to monarchs before the French Revolution, with the adjective ‘absolute’ going back to the Middle Ages. Deriving from the Latin absolutus or ‘absolved’, it had a predominantly legal meaning, describing power that took no heed of the law’s constraints.