Boroughmongering

/ˈbʌroʊmʌŋɡərɪŋ/ noun

Definition

The practice of buying and selling boroughs or engaging in corrupt activities related to borough administration and political patronage.

Etymology

From 'boroughmonger' plus the gerund suffix '-ing'. This term describes the specific practices of corrupt political trading that characterized parts of English history.

Kelly Says

Boroughmongering was so rampant in 18th-century England that satirists like Hogarth painted it mercilessly—it became the poster child for why democratic reform was necessary, making it the villain of Enlightenment political thought.

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