The quality of being arbitrary; decisions or actions made without rational principle, based on random choice, personal whim, or the unrestrained power of an individual.
From 'arbitrary' + '-ness' suffix creating an abstract noun. The concept became important in political philosophy as thinkers distinguished arbitrary power from rule of law.
The Founding Fathers were terrified of 'arbitrariness'—they created checks and balances specifically to prevent one person from making random decisions with absolute power, because they'd seen kings do exactly that!
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