Think of it as a modern take of an authoritarian regime. Embracing the principles of the Enlightenment, some European monarchs like Gustav III of Sweden, Charles III of Spain, Frederick II of Prussia or Ecaterina the Great of Russia tried to apply them in their respective kingdoms. Ideas of meritocracy, religious tolerance, freedom of speech and press, and right to private, all found their way into the legal reforms of the XVIII century. If you want to do some reading on the subject I'd suggest the following works: Frederick II's "Anti-Machiavelli" or de La Rivière's "The natural order and essence of political societies".