Can everyone be corrupted? It's a good question and I really don't know what to answer to it. I guess we are all prone to a bit of fraud every now and then. It's just a matter of degree, perhaps. In the Philippines, corruption is a huge issue. It is deeply rooted in society and it often seems as though structures are designed to be corrupted.
First example. Imagine driving home on the highway after a trip. There's a lively discussion in the car and you somehow fail to notice the light has turned red. A policeman spotted you and gesters you to pull over. If you play by the rules, your license will be taken from you, you will have to pay a fine and you'll have to attend a whole-day seminar. If you pay the policemen, you get off cheap and you have none of the hassle. The policeman's salary is low and he smells some good pocket money. What do you do? The whole situation has "likely to be corrupted" written all over it, but if you howl with the wolves, you are of course supporting corruption and keeping it alive.
Second example. An NGO has a whole-day seminar about local governance. One of the issues is corruption. Everyone agrees that corruption is hampering the progress in development work as so many government officials use badly needed funds for their own benefit. The next day, a naive volunteer asks where he can take a course to get a motorcycle driver's license. His colleague in the NGO immediatley replies: "don't bother with the course, just buy a license. It'll be so much quicker."
It makes me come back to my initial question. I think everyone can be corrupted to some extent, but it becomes dangerous if corruption is so easy and so prevalent that you would have to be silly to resist it. People also see large-scale frauds at high levels as an apology for their own little everyday corruption, I guess. Poverty also adds to it. High morals standards are very nice if you have no trouble getting food on the table.
One of my favourite short stories, by the way, is Mark Twain's "The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg". If you ever get the chance to read it, be sure to do so!
First example. Imagine driving home on the highway after a trip. There's a lively discussion in the car and you somehow fail to notice the light has turned red. A policeman spotted you and gesters you to pull over. If you play by the rules, your license will be taken from you, you will have to pay a fine and you'll have to attend a whole-day seminar. If you pay the policemen, you get off cheap and you have none of the hassle. The policeman's salary is low and he smells some good pocket money. What do you do? The whole situation has "likely to be corrupted" written all over it, but if you howl with the wolves, you are of course supporting corruption and keeping it alive.
Second example. An NGO has a whole-day seminar about local governance. One of the issues is corruption. Everyone agrees that corruption is hampering the progress in development work as so many government officials use badly needed funds for their own benefit. The next day, a naive volunteer asks where he can take a course to get a motorcycle driver's license. His colleague in the NGO immediatley replies: "don't bother with the course, just buy a license. It'll be so much quicker."
It makes me come back to my initial question. I think everyone can be corrupted to some extent, but it becomes dangerous if corruption is so easy and so prevalent that you would have to be silly to resist it. People also see large-scale frauds at high levels as an apology for their own little everyday corruption, I guess. Poverty also adds to it. High morals standards are very nice if you have no trouble getting food on the table.
One of my favourite short stories, by the way, is Mark Twain's "The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg". If you ever get the chance to read it, be sure to do so!
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