If you have been reading my blog for a while you know I am
working on an economic theory based on micro transactions. That understanding rests on the hard economic principles and the softer social principles as
influencing each other. During that research I came across a philosophical
question of how corruption can impact economic growth? This aspect is important
to explore because as corruption rises so does not only the loss to economic
opportunity but also healthy social development and cohesion.
A fundamental question essentially, "What might be the
impact of corruption (distorted micro transactions) and hate (limiting
transactional potential) on the economy?" That in turn lets us look at
things that can help build strong communities and with some luck economic
clusters (potentially new industries. Unlikely to happen if corruption wins the day). The goal being to help the community
versus just a small group of societal members that enrich themselves off unfettered
protections for blatant misbehaviors. If you are part of one group you get more or less protections, seen as local versus non-local have a different set of rules, if your the "wrong" kind of person (racial, religious, etc.) you have less protections. People discuss openly how some can engage in any behavior they want with no legal protections or justice (...an intentionally closed and distorted system based in what appears to be influenced by judicial bias).
Microtransaction are normal patterns of business exchange
and hate representing lost human capital needed by society. Corruption and hate
can limit societal growth, cohesion, and economic/social development (go
figure!). As additional patterns and resources become increasingly distorted
the costs to society rise as performance declines. In our example social groups
determined what type of rights some should have, whether or not their families
are seen as having value, or the outcomes of cases (Openly bragged about
dehumanization which is then protected and rewarded by clan affiliations.). Decisions were made that were not their right to make and ran against the very foundations of social trust (i.e. backroom conversations and target lists).
With corruption we find loss of resources because of changes
in normal decision-making patterns that waste societal effort (i.e. economics
as choice theory). In addition, as hate based behaviors increase, we also limit
social cohesion and damage full human capital utilization through reduction in
incentives and safety (Go figure!). The goal of the in-group was to block
certain members of society and there were no laws or remorse for these
potentially serious federal violations.
A Hypothetical Example for Learning Purposes:
A local "clan" receives special treatment in the
courts and employment. A case in point is someone wanted some money and
utilized their employment and social networks through hate-based rumor
spreading (dehumanization campaign to normalize aggression against good people)
to radicalize an existing corrupt network of officials (not including the vast
majority of good officials). Whistleblowers, minorities, veteran's and
out-group members were targeted in various forms that ranged from elder abuse to
wholesale justice defaults. Normal protections for freedom of speech,
religion, race, etc. dismissed due to nearly non-existent checks-in-balances as courts/judge became tools for the technicalities of law and not their essential purposes
(i.e. intentional misuse of the law that runs counter to the intent of law or
society.).
Perpetrators were rewarded thereby normalizing hate and corruption while concerned citizens muted through
retaliation and aggression. The "status quo" enforced through the misuse of law and public resources (corruption).
Being designated with a "local" status comes with additional benefits
(local as code word for homogeneous clan affiliation based not on the longevity
of locality.). It was more than that, as the judge made decisions as to who is
worthy of human/civil rights and who is above the law and its purpose. Local defined as
race, religion and politics are different than local as in a geographic sense (i.e. Native Americans not seen as "local" despite predating European
settlements). Victims have no/few rights under the law as practiced (We have seen
this in history as a reflection of the dark side of human nature).
What makes this situation interesting is that the community
rallied against some of the corrupted officials and in turn the community's economic
and social prospects improved shortly thereafter. However, because deep
corruption requires specialized knowledge to uncover certain bad actors were
left intact and shielded, indicating a complete judicial default (thwarting the will of the people and their pro-social needs).
Investigations into perpetrators were blocked and investigations into people
who complained opened. The culture of clan affiliates and internal "honor
codes" being of more importance than the fundamental social contracts of
society or the community itself. The possibility of judicial corruption and its impact on communities in our learning example rises.
The following case study supports the idea that judicial
corruption and hate could impact the economy in a negative way. It is importnat to fulill our oaths and values to ensure the entire system runs at peak performance. Therefore, ensuring we have
people on the bench and in offices that serve the public is vitally important
for long term institutional health that leads to robust development. If people
engage in misconduct that will likely have an impact on economies that are
based in free exchange and trust. If misbehaviors are rewarded and encouraged we run the risk of undermining the whole as trust plumments.
An analysis of judicial corruption and its causes: An objective governing-based approach
*This a hypothetical philosophical example for learning purposes so take with a grain of salt.
