spoils system
noun
: a practice of regarding public offices and their emoluments as plunder for members of the victorious party
Examples of spoils system in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Both Karzai and Ghani managed ethnic representation through a spoils system rather than the promotion of a common national vision.
—
P. Michael McKinley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Aug. 2021
The Eternal City extravaganza, which is the brainchild of former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, has been undergoing management shake-ups due to Italy’s political spoils system ever since its launch in 2006 with Nicole Kidman on the red carpet and ambitions to rival Venice.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
Not pushing back against this corporatist revival was an act of cowardice or (in the case of those who saw themselves as winners under corporatism’s spoils system, opportunism) that less than a decade later led to the BRT’s trashing of shareholder rights.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 30 Aug. 2021
Americans would not allow any other part of the federal civil service to become an ideological spoils system where merit matters less than political leanings or cultural grievances.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 6 Oct. 2022
The 19th-century reformers who ended the spoils system opposed removal protections.
—James Sherk, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2022
There was a general feeling that the spoils system of political appointments by the party in power (during the post–Civil War era, that was nearly always the Republicans) had gotten out of hand.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 25 July 2022
The exam was created by the Rogers Act, which abolished the spoils system and transformed the Foreign Service into a professional organization with hiring and promotions based on merit.
—Dave Seminara, WSJ, 2 May 2022
That’s a noble-sounding word, yet one that corrupts the notion of equality under the law by imposing a racial-spoils system favored by social-justice warriors.
—Asra Q. Nomani, National Review, 9 Mar. 2022
P. Michael McKinley, Foreign Affairs, 16 Aug. 2021
The Eternal City extravaganza, which is the brainchild of former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, has been undergoing management shake-ups due to Italy’s political spoils system ever since its launch in 2006 with Nicole Kidman on the red carpet and ambitions to rival Venice.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
Not pushing back against this corporatist revival was an act of cowardice or (in the case of those who saw themselves as winners under corporatism’s spoils system, opportunism) that less than a decade later led to the BRT’s trashing of shareholder rights.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 30 Aug. 2021
Americans would not allow any other part of the federal civil service to become an ideological spoils system where merit matters less than political leanings or cultural grievances.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 6 Oct. 2022
The 19th-century reformers who ended the spoils system opposed removal protections.
—James Sherk, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2022
There was a general feeling that the spoils system of political appointments by the party in power (during the post–Civil War era, that was nearly always the Republicans) had gotten out of hand.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 25 July 2022
The exam was created by the Rogers Act, which abolished the spoils system and transformed the Foreign Service into a professional organization with hiring and promotions based on merit.
—Dave Seminara, WSJ, 2 May 2022
That’s a noble-sounding word, yet one that corrupts the notion of equality under the law by imposing a racial-spoils system favored by social-justice warriors.
—Asra Q. Nomani, National Review, 9 Mar. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spoils system.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Spoils system.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spoils%20system. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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