The spirit of our present House of Commons is plutocratic, not aristocratic; its most prominent statesmen are not men of ancient descent or of great hereditary estate; they are men mostly of substantial means, but they are mostly, too, connected more or less closely with the new trading wealth.
He characterizes the current House of Commons as predominantly plutocratic, reflecting a new class of wealth rather than aristocratic lineage.
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More from Walter Bagehot
If the above reasoning be sound, compulsory constituencies are necessary, voluntary constituencies destructive; the optional transferability of votes is not a salutary aid, but a ruinous innovation.
The work would be done so well that we should not want any one to look over or revise it.
Perhaps such powers as these are what a wise man would most seek to exercise and least fear to possess.
Thirdly, we see why so few nations have made rapid advance, and how many have become stationary.
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