corruption

Corruption

Corruption in a broad sense can be defined as the process in which an individual uses his/her power and influence to achieve what he/she wants. This usually happens in a number of ways ranging from corruption carried out by a single person to the one involving multiple individuals.  Regardless of the tradition that one is affiliated in, the concept of corruption is both unethical and an unnecessary evil that works to retard development both at the micro and macro environments (Johnston, 2006).  Attempting to inculcate corruption in certain cultures and justifying its desirability is only a superficial effort which at the long run legitimizes the already corrupted. Corruption is not a western concept; it is applicable in all societies specifically because of the repercussions it poses.

There is very shallow evidence presented to suggest that corruption is part of certain socio-cultural practices. Furthermore, holding that corruption is an inherent part of human culture is undermining efforts and the hope of improving their livelihood. This creates a culture of fear and consequently corruption thrives. Corruption exists in all societies more so in developing societies. The only difference that arises is that certain societies conceptualize it differently in an attempt to escape its consequences.  

            Dealing with corruption is like an evolutionary process. The most developed societies of the world were also once very corrupt. With time, they have gained resources which are a great requisite to fight corruption. The developing societies experience huge blows in matters of fighting against corruption because of lack of the necessary resources required to fight against the menace (Blundo, 2006). The reason why corruption can be seen as part of the society is because the economic capacity of the society is not able to deal with it.

 Corruption is the biggest hindrance to investment in the public sector. It causes misappropriation of resources and illegal use of public policies. Indulging in ‘gift giving’ especially in the developing nations is irritating to the poor because it is like an invisible tax to them. This tends to increase rather than reduce poverty in such situations. Without corruption in such societies, the Gross Domestic Product levels of the nation would be much higher than when corruption is allowed to thrive. In nations with higher levels of corruption it is accepted as normal. The people in such nations also develop illogical arguments that tend to normalize the practice. They argue that the persistent nature of the practice must consequently have a benefit in such societies.  Ironically, the practice serves to retard development. There are very rare occasions where the benefits of corruption outweigh the negative consequences. The only difficult thing in the less developed nations is that they have very little resources to fight against the menace. It is an upcoming drawback of the nations that are still embracing laissez faire capitalism (Lambsdorff, 2008).

It is a fact to note also that the concept of corruption is accepted in most parts of the developed nations. There are some first world countries with high rates of corruption. In most cases, the countries develop policies that substitute for the negative effects produced by corruption. Corruption is such cases is therefore, seen in most countries as a stimulus to specific shortages.

Corruption is a problem to the democracy of nation states. The officials normally use it to capture the state resources for their own interests. Corrupt societies have chains of related problems such as lack of free and fair elections, ethnic and civil wars and others (Johnston, 2006). The powerful people in the society are likely to use their powers to enrich themselves at the expense of the ordinary citizens. The national goals are therefore compromised by such acts (Blundo, 2006). Political leaders are also likely to compromise their visions for the state when they are bribed to join their opponents. Such practices in less developed nations are likely to culminate into problems.

            From the economic point of view, the leaders are normally mandated to serve the people and empower them. By virtue that corruption is a tradition in the society; the leaders change the rules to fit their interests. They then use them to extract surplus earnings in form of bribes. Corruption should not therefore be accepted in any society. Corruption is a menace even in the development of a nation. When the individuals are employed on the basis of technical know who not on the basis of technical knowhow, skills lack in different fields of industries. This results to poor production techniques which lowers the productivity of different sectors of the economy (Blundo, 2006).

References

Blundo, G, et al. (2006). Everyday Corruption and The State: Citizens and Public Officials In

Africa. Zed books.

Johnston, M. (2006).Syndrome Of Corruption: Wealth, Power, And Democracy. Cambridge

University press.

Lambsdorff, J. (2008). The Institutional Economics Of Corruption and Reform: Theory,

Evidence and Policy.cambridge University press.