On the record
It has so many poor men inside it, and so many rich men outside it, that its electioneering value is impaired.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “It has so many poor men inside it, and so many rich men outside it, that its electioneering value is impaired.”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot critiques the imbalance in the electoral system due to the disparity between the wealthy and the poor.
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More from Walter Bagehot
These anomalies, in a hundred instances, mark the old boundaries of a constitutional struggle.
But it is natural also that persons used to analyse political institutions should look at these anomalies with a little tenderness and a little interest.
Subject to this saving remark, however, I not only admit, but maintain, that our Constitution is full of curious oddities, which are impeding and mischievous, and ought to be struck out.
Political philosophy is still more imperfect; it has been framed from observations taken upon regular specimens of politics and States; as to these its teaching is most valuable.
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