Is Corruption The Worst Thing In The World? R&C Edit.

This post is an adapted and expanded version of one on another platform.

Corruption. It's what we talk about here at R&C, it's what I think about a lot but probably not enough. We know it's a word that is charged and relevant, not just in todays political landscape, but in the history of civilisation. The word has become increasingly required, but I don't think that it's afforded the respect it demands as the potential worst thing in the world (WTITW — that worked out well). I’m sure you’d like to argue your point about how seagulls at the seaside (or anywhere), unscooped poop or crosswords are the WTITW, you can, just read this post first and then you can chime in if I haven't changed your mind.

I recently completed a post graduate diploma in Corruption & Governance, so as you might expect I wrote a bunch of academic papers on the subject, some of which have been posted on Rotten&Co, check them out here. They are interesting and worrying and add to my belief that corruption is the WTITW. Here though, what I'm going to do is just rant a bit about that.

Before we start, for the non-academo's out there, a priori means "reasoning or knowledge which proceeds from theoretical deduction rather than from observation or experience." I use it a lot, I'm a deducer, what of it?

The Stinker - a surreal corruption landscape - created by AI

I have been trying to communicate the ideas from academia in more informal language and tone, especially as they aren’t generally covered as such. That is, after all one of my goals post grad — to allow citizens of the world to get a better grasp of types of corruption, how they work, and most importantly their impact and how to kill corruption (I'm working on it as we go - but the first stop is sharing ideas and education).

Obviously, humans are good at doing things that are great, but are also great at doing things that are atrociousness incarnate, they have some seriously terrible creations, inventions and conventions. But corruption seems to me to be the tyrannosaurus rex in the room, saying that, it’s so often been the do-you-think-he-saurus or something that you might equate with being silent and deadly... Both literally and figuratively it’s a shadowy and malodorous concept (it stinks IRL). And it’s often passed by per it's clandestine nature, and its specifics lack nurture in the conversation of the wider world.

There are loads of articles and books on the subject (I will have to do a list of some of them) but the readers are often those with a vested interest. My idea is, that by sharing my thoughts and more specific examples with a more nuanced understanding, that it will shine a light on the subject, especially for future generations if they want to make some progress beyond the screen in front of their faces.

So, why is it the WTITW?

I think that corruption is the WTITW, because it is and can be the cause of the commonly seen as ‘worst things in the world’. I mean, from a human perspective, to apply this label I would say we naturally look at the forces that cause (or have the potential to cause) large-scale suffering, injustice, or existential risk, like war and genocide, to name two cheerful topics - these can very often be linked to a corrupt leader, group or government.

Oh, but these things can happen without corruption too, I know this, but a priori, they are 99% linked to corruption, and that's probably true. And why is that, it's because to cause suffering and injustice on a scale that impacts society, you need power. Power for our purposes here is; the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. Some will call this reductionism or root cause fallacy - to them I will say, ok. When you reduce the sauce down you get all the flavour, and that's what we're doing. I'm not saying much else.

I like lists, so let's make a list, keeping it high-level at this point, things are, a priori, more likely to happen or be exacerbated when corruption is involved. And these subjects are collected here for impact, they aren't necessarily in the same social or judicial categories, it's just an exercise in unhyperbolic realism. Saying that, I could easily name 10 corrupt leaders that have caused a combination of these things...and would you look at that, the list has magically turned into a colourful chart.

See how I add levity to the WTITW with varied font, colours and shapes, now that's what I call putting make-up on the devil, or just communicating well! I may have missed a few connections, but that's the joy of blogging, I'll fix it later!

The problem with what I've done here is that I'll have to write about how each of these things is, either created or boosted by corruption - while it might prove my point it's going to be a lot of work - maybe ChatGPT can help me. Just think about it for a minute though, it's not hard to see how an authoritarian tyrant can bring about each or all of these things (cough Putin, cough cough Marcos, cough cough cough Kim-Jong Il, etc, etc).

And taking it a step down, we have other economic and social impacts of corruption (non-exhaustive list), in no particular order or schema - one colourful chart was enough - get serious will you!

poor infrastructure	lack of accountability
low domestic and foreign investment	high levels of inequality
inflation	poor eduction
monetary devaluation	high crime rates
black markets/stealth economy	trafficking
loss of trust in government	radicalisation
mass surveillance	systemic racism

Aren’t you glad you clicked, just take a breath and think of cute puppies playing - oh no, they’ve been skinned and made into a vest for a benevolent dictator...

If corruption was eliminated there would likely still be criminals and crime, but at least the criminals wouldn’t be people in charge of cities and countries. They would be the good old scumbags of society - thieves, murderers and drug dealers - I can live with these guys, they’re alright by me. As long as they don’t steal my stuff and/or murder me. But as you can see from the above macro and micro level impact, there is a whole lot going on.

Even though this is the exaggerated end of the stick (though not really), here's a quick faux-scenario, to see if I can get all of the above into a short story.

As soon as oil was found, the civil war began in the unspoiled, and now unfortunately resource rich country. A new leader is installed by the currently victorious military. The General quickly takes advantage of his new position by making deals with oil companies that include, a share of profits being sent to his newly formed offshore shell companies - alongside the facilitation payments and donations to his new foundation. He creates a new sovereign wealth fund, and a citizens welfare fund with promises to support education, hospitals, infrastructure - with unbound zeal claiming this new found oil wealth will lift the country up to unimagined heights. Alongside the rhetoric of change come figures and stories punctuated with heroic zero's. The citizens, still dealing with the settling dust of war, see small, thin rays of hope. They're told it will be a long road, but this is the beginning of a prosperous future. As many things are already flattened, so more must be to allow room for growth.

They must chop ,and knock, things down before they start rebuilding. The environmental and wildlife protection legislation is chopped, the war torn buildings and others are knocked down. And soon, you can't see the florist, the forest or the trees, because they've been razed to search for more oil or mineral wealth. The wildlife is no more, now tame in death. As old policy and funding for schools and hospitals is scrapped with cash redirected to the welfare fund - hopes are high, as is the growing account balance of the new funds, bulbous investors pile in.

The money though, never makes it to the public, and with no transparency or legal power, the promised influx of cash for utilities and infrastructure is nowhere to be seen - unless you don your x-ray specs. Then you would see that the money is being diverted to The General, his family and his chosen best pals. Schools, hospitals, infrastructure maintenance, emergency services, all begin to suffer - as national funding is siphoned away, local councils do their best but to get what they need requires a trading in influence, bending of the rules, of morals, and an increase in local taxes that the locals can't afford. Hopes deflate as inflation arrives with villainous zeroes. The system buckles, and only more grift and graft can keep it from collapsing. Dodgy deals ensue, handshakes and backhanders - crumpled envelopes work hard in the shadows, but there isn't enough of anything to go around.

Rolling blackouts begin as outdated energy structure is strained by new development projects. Irrigation and agriculture infrastructure is heavily impacted, and subsidies are removed. Soon, food prices soar as reliance on imports and tariffs increase. Poverty takes hold and waits for the arrival of it's old friend, famine. Masses displace themselves before it grabs ahold of them, but running on an empty stomach is for athletes - they won't last.

With pressure from the outside growing, the government eventually allow a trickling of funds to flow, keeping the country from descending into chaos is a side effect of appeasing the ESG council of investing companies and bemoaning nations. Predictably, those struggling in the local council think, if the top boys are doing it then why can't I? Further abuses of power ensue. At every level, money isn't getting where it needs to be, schools lose teachers, hospitals lose doctors, trash is no longer being collected, the stench of corruption becomes palpable. Crowds take to the street as looting erupts, the police take action but then realise they need to join the so called criminals, just to survive. The national guard and army are sent in as police abandon their posts. A dying people are killed - a small mercy maybe.

As false hopes dissipate and reality squeezes the last drops of life out of the oppressed. As everyone and everything good is displaced, dying or is dead, The General enjoys an espresso martini after his gold-flaked avocado, salmon on sourdough toast, as he entertains greed and the greedy. As oil was found, everything was lost.

Alright that'll do, such drama. This specific example relates to corruption triggered by a war and a coup which is the result of vast amounts of oil being found - an extreme boiling down of what is known as the resource curse. You might think this is a story of the old world, of the developing nations cursed by resources. But the resource curse doesn't just mean oil and coal, there are others kinds of resources, like power - it's often given as much as it is taken. In line with that, whoever has power can abuse it anywhere. As certain, so-called developed countries have seen and are seeing - it doesn't take much to flip the kill switch.

Language Creates Culture

One of the things that is key is to realise that communicating ideas has to be done with purpose. The language used in media is important in corruption not getting its due. Some may not know the definition, or the various types, of corruption - other than bribery, but they may not even know that bribery is a type of corruption. Many will know it when they see it. We too often rely on allusions or substitutes that get the point across by missing it. But, language creates culture.

...if you don't always make that link, then the dots aren't collected and so, they can't be connected.

Euphemisms abound; abuse of power, trading influence, backhanders, kickbacks, graft and siphoning funds - suddenly you realise corruption is, and the corrupt are, everywhere. They are part of everything that moves, that breathes, that dies. But I didn't use either of those words in the story above - if you don't always make that link, then the dots aren't collected and so, they can't be connected. Ergo, the concept doesn't accumulate the attention it warrants and deserves. You have to put a face to the name, it's the first step in knowing which face to punch. Language creates culture.

Corrupt behaviour can generally be seen as a divergence from an accepted norm in an institution or position where there is a correct or right way of doing things. What it really is, is a betrayal of trust, the prioritisation of the few over the many and the hyper-normalisation of injustice. Of course it is, but it's another thing - it's the WTITW, oh and also it's preventable.

Popping the last balloon at the party!

Think about what you might consider the worst things in the world, do you think I covered most of them? Oh my apologies, I forgot to mention pineapple on pizza! I jest, I love a Hawaiian - the most corrupt pizza in the world.

Corruption kills. Corruption is death - of democracy, justice, equality, solidarity, freedom, the planet, animals and humans. While struggles continue to define corruption, though metaphors of disease, poison and cancer are apt, words like bane and scourge are undoubtedly accurate. But I think it needs an upgrade, for posterity, we should define corruption in the frame of an anti-panacea, so an omni-killer, corroder of all good, and deadly source of ruin for the survival of a just and fair humankind, of civilisation - it's a right ol' bastard isn't it.

My favourite word of recent creation (20 years ago or so) is omnishambles - a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and mismanagement. It is perfect and was penned in the British political satire TV series 'The Thick of It' one of my favourite shows of all time, it is comedy genius, though ironic and unfortunate as that may be.

Corruption can cause political omnishambles or vice versa. But what corruption is, is the panexcidium - the ruiner/destroyer of worlds. Or it could be omnisociocide - a killer of society. I know, they don't really roll off the tongue (and they might be a bit wrong - latin isn't it), but it is what it is. This tangent though is not exactly what an undefinable concept needs, further expansion and addition of ideas to try and describe it. As a rhetorical instrument though, it works well. One might call it hyperbole, but one would be mistaken.

All the above mentioned wrongs or wrongdoing (in the chart) are certainly possible without corruption being present. However, in my humble opinion I would say that all are enabled, exacerbated and/or entrenched by corruption and are unlikely to occur without some kind of abuse of power being present. I would say that wouldn't I? But it's true that these terrible possibilities skip merrily hand-in-hand with corruption on the road to oblivion.

So, in conclusion I still think corruption is the worst thing in the world, with dogs on the beach and reality TV close behind. I feel like there's a grand unifying theory of corruption brewing here - I just have to reconcile quantum corruption with panexcidium and... I wish I had the cerebral fortitude. I'd be happy to get there, but for now I will just try to verbally beat the sh*t out of corruption and eventually kill it 'til it dies - metaphorical violence is the answer...for now.

Thanks for reading,

Alvin.