“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Corruption is a hydra-headed menace that has been prevalent over time and has assumed different forms and percolates through every facet of human life. It is pertinent to note that in different regions/cultures, corruption is relative e.g. it is acceptable to offer tips to a bellhop in the western part of the world, in some parts of the Far East; that is deemed to be corruption. This essay will try to explore the history of corruption, its different forms, the factors that induce or encourage corruption and its effects.
In ancient times corruption was a thing to be utterly ashamed of, it’s a totally different story today as corrupt individuals abscond almost every time. Corruption has grown tremendously over the years penetrating into different sectors and taking on different forms. The word “corruption” was first used by Aristotle and then by Cicero who added bribe and abandonment of goods. These days corruption can be found globally, in small and big businesses, the government, corporate businesses and in almost every other sector. It’s like a cancer that keeps spreading and it has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. Many countries are still battling with this malignant subject called corruption on a global level and most of them still haven’t found a way of curbing this disease.
For us to fully comprehend the depth of this issue we need to understand the meaning. The word corruption comes from the Latin word com or "with, together," and rumpere, meaning "to break." According to the Oxford dictionary corruption can be defined as “dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.” or “Wrongdoing ...
... middle of paper ...
...started reforms that are clearly paying off. Supervise and conduct yearly or monthly background checks on government officials and their sectors, stop all forms of favoritism, when someone is caught for fraudulent activities instead of collecting a bribe and letting that person go, prosecute the person and follow the due process. This way you begin to get rid of the bad fish and gain public trust Another way is to create awareness on corruption, people should educated on corruption, how it affects us and how it can be prevented. Government power should also be regulated and there should be checks and balances among the three arms of government, there should be as much transparency as possible.
As long as we have money and humans, a little corruption will exist. I don’t think we can put it to a complete stop but we can reduce its existence to the barest minimum.
By the mid 20th century, the scale and prominence of corruption had increased dramatically, due to the widespread transition to vast urban cities and industrialized systems. The greed and desperation that resulted from the shift towards industrialism accelerated the growth of corruption in politics. Although the shift to industry was a necessary stepping stone in the development of the modern society existing today, it was accompanied by various consequences to American society and facilitated the corruption of government officials. The exploitation of fellow
In my opinion, corruption cannot be stopped but it can be reduced with the willingness of the people, as I mentioned above there could be plenty of recommendations but it’s all up to that person to put the effort. I think corruption is a choice; we all have voices and rights and if we chose to do unlawful things there is no one to blame but ourselves. However, there is corruption in every field of job out there. Corruption has been around for years and years and it will continue to be there in the future, it’s something that no one can eradicate. All countries around the world are facing corruption even the most powerful developed countries.
Probable Causes of Corruption – Different things motivate different people. Some can motivate people to perform beyond expectations and some can lead astray from moral and ethical values.
Corruption is an individual and institutional process where there is a gain by a public official from a briber and in return receives a service. Between the gain and the service, there is an improper connection, (Thompson p.28). The two major categories of bribery is individual and institutional corruption. Receiving personal goods for the pursuit of one’s own benefit is personal fraud. An example of individual distortion is the financial scandal involving David Durenberger. Organizational corruption involves “receiving goods that are useable primarily in the political process and are necessary for doing a job or are essential by-products of doing it,” (Thompson p.30). An instance of institutional fraud is the Keating Five case. There are also times where there is a mixture of both individual and organizational corruption in a scandal. An example of this diverse combination is James C. Wright Jr. actions while he was the Speaker of the House.
The reason why corruption has become a global problem is because it’s rational to be greedy or wanting for more but soon after it gets out of control and then there is a corrupted person who in order to change would have to step down from power and become a person who doesn’t control.
Corruption is something that is motivated by greed and deception. It’s a very sinister personality that seeks to control and destroy people’s live. Most people don’t want to associate with a corrupt person.
The runaway corruption in the country harms the business environment and causes collapse of various established institutions and industries.
Bribery poses difficulties on moral grounds because it is incompatible with the principal of human equality and the fundamental right for individuals to be treated with equal respect and concern. For an institution to adhere to this principle, they must operate with fairness and impartiality: nobody should have access to influence that is not accessible to all. Bribery operates as part of a mechanism by which influence is only available ...
Political corruption is when someone with higher power is using his or her wealth for their own interest, not for others interest. In this case people who are wealthy are using their money to buy elections for their political interest. In Kevin Phillips’ article, “How Wealth Defined Power,” he states that “[w]ith so much at stake in policy making and regulation, the rich stepped up their political involvement, and more and more money poured into congressional elections… the concentration and momentum of wealth spilled over, just as they had before, from economic self-interest and buccaneering into the corruption of politics.” All the money was not just being poured into the election, but it was also being poured into the pockets of “well-tailored politicians” (Phillips). This kind of actions also cause wealthy people to be self-centered because “financial and political corruption seem to be an inevitable consequence of psychologies and politics unleashed as a long bull market feeds a culture of money and greed,” which is due to the fact that “[w]hen money is king, politicians get bought on a truly grand scale and philosophy bows to avarice” (Phillips).
Chapters one through five introduce different forms of corruption within all levels of society, with the remaining two chapters focused on radical social attempts to combat corruption such as vigilante justice. The well-known email-scam is the first introduction to corruption – the common expression for it being 419, originating from its reference to fraud in the Nigerian penal code. 419 evolved to signify all corrupt activity in society; at the communi...
Bribery is wrong, and it would be almost instinctive to point at the benefits of impartially functioning public servants and incorrupt corporations to our democratic society as justification. However, in this imperfect world where bribery is rife in varying degrees, is it possible to express this notion convincingly? Certainly 'because the UK Bribery Act says so' is far less persuasive to a council planning office in Shanghai than in London, and indeed in compliance with section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 which relates to commercial offences, it is essential that this question is engaged with on a corporate scale and without assertion through dogma. Accordingly, this essay will argue that elements wrong with bribery are inclusive of both moral and economic considerations. Moreover, in conjunction with international mandates, advent of aggressive legislation such as that of the UK Bribery Act 2010 is representative of global efforts to eliminate bribery. Hence, it follows that bribery can never be considered a normal part of business because it is economically unsustainable in the long term.
(BBC NEWS, 2004) Why is there so much attention nowadays on corruption? Did people ignore corruption in the past? Or is it because there is more corruption than in the past? Some of the main reasons could be: - As countries trade more with each other, fair trade is expected and unfair business or political practices are being paid more attention. - The media is reporting much more about corruption cases, especially in emerging market countries, such as China, India.
The major economic problems are arisen due to corruption. The corruption in our country has damaged our system severely. This wave of corruption starts from the lowest level of rank to the top most level of ranks.
Montesh, M. (n.d.). Conceptualizing Corruption: Forms, Causes, Types and Consequences. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from
Corruption is one of the major issues nowadays and is a clear example and consequence of the actual society and culture. A manifestation of this global phenomenon is the construction industry where corruption is really widespread and interconnected with other industries.