Final answer:
A political system that limits governmental powers to protect individual liberty is known as liberalism or libertarianism, which emphasizes the protection of negative rights and personal autonomy.
Step-by-step explanation:
A political system in which the government's functions and powers are restricted to protect individual liberty is typically referred to as liberalism or libertarianism. These ideologies advocate for a government that exists to safeguard individuals' private interests with minimal intervention. They emphasize the significance of negative rights, which limit governmental overreach, and the maintenance of personal autonomy and privacy, ensuring a separation between public life and individual freedom. Underpinning such systems, figures like Montesquieu argue that liberty involves having the protection of laws while having as much freedom as possible, with only necessary laws for public safety being enacted.Libertarianism specifically focuses on restraint on government power, while liberalism emphasizes the government's role in protecting individual rights and enforcing laws concerning personal autonomy. Both John Locke and Montesquieu believed in separating government powers to avoid tyranny and to protect the rights of individuals. A key component of such a system involves creating a rule of law to define social interactions and manage property and contract rights, thereby preventing the initiation of force by the government against its citizens.When discussing the balance between government power and individual rights, it's important to distinguish between political systems and economic systems; however, they are often associated. For instance, the development of capitalism in the West coincided with ideas about self-government and natural rights, leading to the prominence of the concept of liberty in political discourse.