Judicial Corruption and Setting the Standard (Hypothetical Thought Experiment on Hate and Corruption)

Corruption has a negative impact on society economically, socially and institutionally. However, sometimes corruption exists within the social networks in which judges belong and at times the misperceptions that they hold. In our theoretically hypothetical thought experiment for learning purposes, it appears that corruption was ongoing for a long time and once it was discovered the judicial system turned a blind eye and shielded efforts to uncover and improve the local system. Victims had few rights of recourse and were intentionally dehumanized.

The thought experiment example goes someone like this, 

Someone utilized their employment and friendships to target others for financial gain. Aggression, manipulation, dishonesty, and other poor behaviors came forward. People were well aware of what was going on and good officials silenced. In this example, a judge knew these behaviors existed and rewarded the perpetrators financially by ruling against and retaliating against whistleblowers (later found to be correct). Justifications of harm against some members of society to reward others normalized. The smallest variance in life justified horrendous misbehaviors. Some of that is based in social connections, others of that in personal bias and political beliefs. People have complained of conflicts of interest, perferences and "above the law" standards for some social network members.

It is important to understand some of the reasons why such systems default and how they could have gone on so long without anyone standing for the central values as codified in our social contracts and artifacts. Deep seated hate and social-financial based corruption appear to exist in the same sphere. Racial, religious and political perspectives in our example may have influenced outcomes (not specific to any race, religion, or political position.). Since the decisions were made initially in bias the outcomes were also biased through false anchoring of perceptions, decisions and choices (garbage in and out).

What this piece below helps indicate is that judicial corruption occurs in developing countries (Many of the principles will apply to other places as well). Such corruption occurs because it has been allowed to occur and more victims came forward and they were similarly dismissed in a closed system. What we can learn is that it is possible to analyze corruption on a case outcome and procedural level to determine if there are preferences in justice. Keeping the system healthy helps the whole and raises trust and growth prospects. Intentionally injustices and lack of recourse or remorse for victims does the opposite and undermines the full functioning of the system.

The Causes of Judicial Corruption in Developing Countries

If we are going to set the standard, we should do it around the values we promote in society. Supporting institutions and good officials means having some checks and balances when misbehaviors are clear, repeated, and the effects ongoing. If we are to profess loyalty to certain oaths and beliefs, we should make the effort to live by them and ensure those who went went awry are brought back into the fold. These shared values and social and economic implications in the long run even if we don't make the connection (science has actually made that connection.)

*This is a hypothetical, philosophical, theoretical thought learning example so take with a grain of salt and feel free to disagree. We can write the ending so it will be related to system adaptation and resilience around shared social values. It is also in honor of the victims of hate and corruption anywhere it may occur.