A system of government in which most decisions are made by officials who are willing to pass pretty well anything that could profit the town/city unless a posse of concerned neighbors band together and make a ruckus.
The zoning by-law said Bill could only use up to 45 percent of his property to make a two story house. Being a free man, he wanted to use 60 percent for his four story house. He was confident that he could use the burbeaucracy to get his demands.