moved over time or, in the case on Dunwich on the east
coast of England, had actually fallen into the ocean as a
result of coastal erosion. In each of these rotten boroughs,
a small number of voters elected two members of
Parliament. Old Sarum had seven voters, Dunwich thirty-
two, and each elected two members of Parliament.
But there were other ways to influence Parliament and
thus economic institutions. The most important was via
petitioning, and this was much more significant than the
limited extent of democracy for the emergence of pluralism
after the Glorious Revolution. Anybody could petition
Parliament, and petition they did. Significantly, when
people petitioned, Parliament listened. It is this more than
anything that reflects the defeat of absolutism, the
empowerment of a