The Causes and Effects of Corruption (Hypothetical Thought Experiment)

Corruption has a corrosive effect on nearly anything it touches because it is based on dishonesty and misuse of trust for self/group gain. From the economic and business side corruption slows down transactions and in turn warps normal business patterns so resources are misused and misallocated for an in-group. Trust can be impacted if normal human exchange patterns are disrupted. Having a strong ethical/moral code along with appropriate checks and balances can help protect the whole system from poor actors (One should distinguish between the majority who do what is right and the minority who warp the system for their in-group. We make the assumption that corruption and hate are not desirable.). 

I have been using a hypothetical thought experiment to philosophically explore hate and corruption at its worst where it warped the functioning of an institution. Falsely spread hate rumors, close connection of corrupted officials, coaching perpetrators how to exploit, and decision-making preferences led to a default. No checks and balances, whistleblowers retaliated against, perpetrators financially encouraged, cleansing type behaviors, and laws were tools without their purpose (i.e. not anchored in their root social artifacts and accepted value systems).

In our ethical learning example extortion, aggression, civil/human rights, resource misuse, in-group membership, etc. came into play in one form or another. It helps highlight that while the majority of people are good and honest there are a percentage of people within any society that will do anything to get what they want. Give them a group of uncritical followers and you have a problem. Our systems are built for those who have not internalized acceptable values. It struggles in closed systems where decisions makers give preference to their friend/in-group networks in a way that put others in harm’s way. and undermines trust.

The story is used to explore, and we will eventually write in a narrative of resilience and system adaptation where the people/community become again more important than the small but powerful in-group. Around the same time, the community (...and officials serving the public) challenged corruption, their economic prospects increased, and they created a 'sense of community' that brought a higher sense of collective purpose (Something the corrupted embedded network didn't understand nor did they expect.). Justice was intentionally suppressed as patterned behavior but The People strove for the next rung and reached it.

In our learning example the specific race, religion, social network, politic etc. doesn't matter as the presence of corruption should be enough to prompt actions to improve. In a highly diverse world clear misuse of authority to further one's ideologies and beliefs about others (i.e. the dehumanization process) should not be encouraged or tolerated by those who seek to uphold our root values, beliefs and oaths. It is these examples that help cut the wheat from the chaff on who should and who should not have authority. (This is a learning story to understand and encourage what strengthes the economic and social underpinnings of society so as to improve the whole.)

Causes and Effects of Corruption: What has Past Decade's Empirical Research Taught us? A Survey

-Inefficiency can cause corruption. (Misuse of resources)

-Freedom of press minimizes corruption. (Using intimidation to silence legitimate well thought out opinions)

-Corruption slows economic growth. (Low growth over a few decades that reversed when corruption was challenged)

-In-group preference that encourages corruption. (Open complaints and conversations on corruption and preference within the system)

-Level of democratic principles reduce corruption in governance size. (Lack of respect for oaths, values, pledges and social contracts related to a strong democracy.)

-Decentralization reduces corruption. (Closed network with coordinated unhelpful behaviors)

-Legal systems with common law reduce corruption. (Subjective application of law. Coaching on how to harm and immunization of poor behaviors)

-Diverse political engagement reduced corruption (Indications of extremism and violence present)

-Lower levels of property rights increase corruption. (Open financial exploitation of others. Putting youth and elderly at risks to financially reward oneself.)

-Better pay for officials will reduce corruption. (The vast majority are good officials who deserve higher pay. Notice in our example I have been saying this for a while. It is part of the process of developing high functioning systems. Encourage good officials to stay and corrupted ones to leave.)

-Corruption more common in less urban areas. (Close social connections 'good old boy' allowed corruption to go on for years due to close proximity.)

Dimant, Eugen & Tosato, Guglielmo. (2017). Causes and Effects of Corruption: What has Past Decade's Empirical Research Taught us? A Survey. Journal of Economic Surveys. 32. 10.1111/joes.12198. 

*This is a hypothetical philosophical thought experiment for learning purposes so take with a grain of salt. Since it is a discussion feel free to leave a comment. Stay tuned as it is a series and we have learned how such systems work, what checks are needed, and about the impact of hate and corruption on society.