Corrupt practices are defined here as using inducements to persuade someone to do, or not to do, their duty; they inhibit good governance.
Despite it being mostly illegal, corruption is present in varying degrees everywhere in the world. It is classified as self-protection because the decision to pay a bribe to an official, for example, is a decision to use one's own resources (usually money) rather than to call for the rules to be enforced. The person who pays a bribe and the person accepting it are both participants in the same corruption, and both are operating outside the law. It increases the cost of living and doing business, benefits some at the expense of others, and undermines governance.
Transparency International monitors corrupt practices and campaigns against them: “Our global movement works in over 100 countries to end the injustice of corruption by promoting transparency, accountability and integrity.” Its 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index “aggregates data from a number of different sources that provide perceptions by business people and country experts of the level of corruption in the public sector”. Its ranking of 180 countries rates Nordic countries relatively highly and unsurprisingly shows problems in Africa.
The complete elimination of corruption, requiring both education and the strengthening of institutions, would take several generations. Its importance, and available countermeasures against it, are further explored in the following sub-sections:
· Those who engage in corruption can undermine the effectiveness of all the dimensions of governance (7.2.5.1). It impedes the effective operation of economic supply and demand; it adds to the cost of public administration; it has undermined the legitimacy of some religious authorities; it makes a mockery of legal powers; and it can be used to distort political authority.
· Some countermeasures against corruption can be incorporated by design in every dimension of governance (7.2.5.2). Economic measures include auditing and the impact of competition. Moral pressure can be applied. Impartial courts can combat corruption, and transparency can be made obligatory. Attention can be drawn to corrupt politicians, making them unpopular. Both Internet self-service and deregulation can remove opportunities for corruption.
(This is an archive of a page intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. The latest versions are at book contents).