The power of an official or government officer to make appointments and offer favours. Once in power, a politician can use patronage to build a loyal following. Although practiced at all levels of government, patronage is most often associated with the politics of the big city machine. (See Loot system.) These sample phrases are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word “patronage”. The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us your feedback. Back at Glenaan Station in New Zealand, Allbirds` place in the market takes a back seat to more well-known brands, as its patronage allows the shepherd who supplies his wool to make impressive improvements to his farm. Political patronage, also known as the “Padrino system,” also a familiar call like balimbing (starfruit fruit), in the Philippines, has been the source of much controversy and corruption. It was an open secret that one cannot join the political arena of the Philippines without mastering the Padrino system. From the lowest official in the barangay to the president of the Republic, one is expected to incur political debt and distribute political favors to advance one`s career or gain influence, if not wealth.
At the time of classical art, composers such as Bach or painters such as Michelangelo were supported by patrons whose patronage or financial support paid for the artists` careers. Patronage is still an important part of our world, but you have to be careful: If your senator is accused of political patronage, people accuse him of trading jobs or other favors in exchange for political support. That is not a good thing. Nonprofits and other nonprofits often seek out one or more influential figureheads as patrons. The relationship is often not about money. These individuals can not only lend credibility, but also use their contacts and charisma to help the organization raise funds or influence government policy. The British royal family is particularly prolific in this regard, devoting much of its time to various causes. [8] Now I was pretty clear about what was going on. The décor of the dinner, both the physical arrangement of the private meal and Trump`s pretext that he had not already asked me several times to stay, convinced me that this was an attempt to establish a relationship of clientelism.
In many Latin American countries, patronage developed as a means of population control by concentrating economic and political power in a small minority that possessed privileges that the majority of the population did not possess. [2] In this system, the Patrón has authority and influence over a less powerful person, whom he protects by granting favors in exchange for loyalty and loyalty. Rooted in feudalism, the system was designed to maintain cheap and servile labor that could be used to limit the cost of production and allow wealth and its privileges to be monopolized by a small elite. [3] Long after the abolition of slavery and other forms of servitude such as the encomienda and repartimiento systems, patronage was used to maintain rigid class structures. [3] [4] With the rise of a working class, traditional patronage changed in the 20th century to allow for some participation in power structures, but many systems still favor a small, powerful elite that distributes economic and political favors in exchange for benefits to the lower classes. [2] Beginning in 1969, the Chicago Supreme Court, Michael L. Shakman, filed a lawsuit against the Democratic Organization of Cook County, implying political favoritism and its constitutionality. Shakman claimed that much of the favoritism in Chicago politics was illegal because of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Through a series of litigation and negotiations, the two sides agreed on the Shakman Decrees. As a result of these decrees, it was stated that the professional status of most civil servants cannot be positively or negatively influenced on the basis of political affiliation, with the exception of positions with a political tendency.