Third Republic politics after 1881 ran on corruption and vested interests

Evidence

Meanwhile, however, the various elements in society, from the opportunists to the radicals and from the coalitionists to the extreme right, had made up their minds what kind of policies they required from their representatives and what methods they ought to employ. The right policy was defense of vested interests and the right method was corruption. After 1881, swindle (to quote Léon Say) became the only law. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 292

Categorization

• CANDY: The Léon Say quip ‘swindle became the only law’ is a crisp, quotable characterization.