What is Corruption? Part 1
- Rotten&Co.
- Jul 15, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 27, 2023
We thought this would be the best place to start our 'lessons in corruption' series. It's a complicated and nuanced subject, sure, but what the hell is it? We will endeavour to keep our 'lesson' posts to around five minute reads for ease of digestion and to not overwhelm anyone new to the subject. Hence we may end up with a number of parts for related questions, but we think that makes sense, and hopefully the posts will too.
Does it definitely need defining?
We often see articles which use the term, and even with titles stating corrupt or corruption but without any clarity as to what particular action or behaviour they are referring to - a lack of context, and/or reference without explanation is common. It 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. We usually see it used when a politician has done something they shouldn't have.
On the whole, it would be beneficial to have a common usage term, seeing as we are going to be going on and on about it. For a start, let's have a look at a few definitions from the anticorruption, academic and finance worlds (as per IAQ page).
"The abuse of entrusted power for private gain." Transparency International (TI).
"Abuse of public office for private gain." - The World Bank & International Monetary Fund (IMF);
"Active or passive misuse of the powers of Public officials (appointed or elected) for private financial or other benefits." - The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);
Professor Daniel Hough states a potential four pronged approach, corruption is;
deliberate.
an abuse of position.
an abuse of entrusted power (if they don't have power they can't be corrupt).
for private gain (the individual and/or their associated people or entities will benefit).
In a 2009 paper, Andersson and Heywood go for;
“…the misuse of power in the interests of illicit gain.”
There is a general vibe here, the abuse of power for some kind of gain. There is often a requirement to analyse each variable - what is misuse, what is power, interest, gain, etc. We aren't going to do that in excessive detail here, because we/you haven't got all day. It's these kinds of analysis that, while required at times, can hold back finding a usable common term. Those analyses are often done in the realms of academia and explored in the anticorruption industry. They go deep and with good reason but they can also be a hinderance for practicality. For our uses, we think a well considered but slightly less thorough approach will do. We hope that's ok with you.
There are a couple of other categories of differentiation that have been noted alongside the abuse of power. The business/corporate side; e.g. a business bribing their way to win a government contract, and the idea of legal corruption; which might be when there is an element of accepted corruption built into a system. There is an inherent crossover between the types and we would agree with Professor Hough that there is always a position of power being abused, though sometimes power is simply taken and not entrusted. An elected official might abuse entrusted power, but a dictator who took power via coup/force has not been entrusted with it. Power for our purposes here is; the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events.
This is noted by Andersson and Heywood, hence omitted from their definition, we agree with it, it covers the wide idea without losing the point. Though some might prefer the wording to be private gain or illegal gain; we prefer illicit due to the broader scope of the definition, meaning, forbidden by law, rules, or custom. This allows bases covered but distinction in application when analysed.
Way back in 1909 R.C. Brookes stated, ‘The corrupt official must know the better and choose the worse; the inefficient official does not know any better.’ Inefficiency or incompetency can't be an excuse for someone in a position of power, especially a politician, it is their job to know better, to operate in an ethical and appropriate manner. If it wasn't deliberate and was an accident or oversight that a government contract went to a company owned by a politicians brother (without a general tender being released and merit basis), there has been some illicit gain. The abuse of power was the fact that there was no accountability for unfair action. Again a question of context and nuance, it might have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, but as we know with great power comes great irresponsibility - that sounds about right.
The specifics of culture can also add a disputed aspect to the discussion. If, in a certain country you have to pay extra to see a doctor or get your cable TV connected, and that's the way the system works, because the doctor and the cable guy are poorly paid and overworked, is that bribe, a bribe, or just a grease or speed payment? Do they have to pay a portion of those bribes to their boss, is it the norm? It becomes tricky, but again nuance and context; don't ignore it, factor it in. Is power being abused somewhere in the chain, is there illicit gain? You get the idea.
A thorn by any other name
Corruption, the word, has a stigma attached to its ambiguity and will sometimes be substituted with words like malfeasance, dishonesty or misconduct, which might be partially appropriate but a bit of a cop out. In addition, certain actions that fall under the umbrella of corruption often serve alone. Bribery (the offering, accepting or soliciting of an advantage as an inducement for an action which is illicit) is a reasonably clear idea and will suffice in many a context without reference to corruption, but it is a form of corruption. The receiver of the bribe has power in who he trades with, how much he charges, etc; the giver of the bribe may have attained wealth and influence - forms of power that allow access that others don't have. Other forms include, embezzlement (theft by employee from an employer), the employee has access to funds, a form of power afforded by his position, and nepotism (hiring family members over other more qualified unrelated candidates) which might see a powerful CEO appoint a relative with no oversight.
They are all examples of corrupt acts, they abuse power for illicit gain and can be applied to political, business or legal environments. If all are taking place in the same institution we can say there is a culture of corruption, it's endemic, and that there is institutional corruption. It is of course a complex subject and lots to consider, but we think 'the abuse of power for illicit gain' will be our baseline for corrupt activity, then we add context and detail as required.
You can see then, that there is a lot to consider but we hope that helped, and didn't just confuse the matter further. And that it will help you recognise and analyse suspect and inappropriate use and abuse of power. We are, of course, open to changing our mind as we are on a forever-learning journey - lots more to come from this vast and hellacious world of corruption.
Thanks for your support.
Yours Explanatorily,
Rotten&Co.
Further information.
*Staffan Andersson, Paul M. Heywood, 2009, 'The Politics of Perception: Use and Abuse of Transparency International's Approach to Measuring Corruption'. Research Article.
*Brooks, R. C. (1909) ‘The Nature of Political Corruption’. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2141078.pdf
*Oskar Kurer, 2015, Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption.
*Dan Hough, 2017. Analysing Corruption (Agenda Publishing).
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