Political Corruption, Its Causes And Consequences

Political corruption, its causes and consequences

Summary

Throughout our life we ​​have formed certain attitudes, beliefs and responses of what is believed is "good" or "bad". Through the society in which we live and the things that we carry out daily, we have been adapting to the lifestyle of the different people around us.

The existence of controversial issues in the society in which we arise as human beings, is due to the lack of values, including education, tolerance and the need for a dialogue between the political leaders who make up the community. On the other hand, talking about ethics is to express social interactions and the way in which this faces issues that cause controversy and conflict.

Corruption is a topic of interest for different disciplines, for a long time the phenomenon has received attention without references. Since then an extensive literature on different elements of corruption has been caused, which use different analytical tools. In this essay we will talk about the causes, consequences and possible solutions.

Developing

According to Vito Tanzi (1995): “Corruption is the intentional breach of the principle of impartiality with the purpose of deriving from such type of behavior a personal benefit or for related people.”There are three basic elements in this definition. The first refers to the intentional breach of the principle of impartiality, in the sense that it requires that personal or other relationships should not play any role in economic decisions that involve more than one part.

Equal treatment for all economic agents is essential for the proper functioning of the market economy. The preference towards some economic agents definitely violates the principle of impartiality and implies a necessary condition for corruption. Without preference, there is no corruption.

Political corruption refers to the criminal acts committed by officials and public authorities that abuse their power and influence by making an intentional misuse of financial and human resources to those who have access, anticipating their personal interests and those of their relatives, To get an illegitimate advantage generally secret and private.

Causes

The causes can be internal and external:

Internal

• Lack of social conscience.
• Lack of education or a culture of commitment.
• Antisocial personalities.
• Undervaluation of the possibility of being discovered.

External

• Effective impunity in corruption acts.
• Partisan organization.
• Discretion and shortage of collegiate decisions.
• Salaries too low.
• Lack of transparency in information concerning the use of public funds and decision processes.
• Little efficiency of public administration.

Corruption produces distrust in political parties, in political leaders and in most public institutions. It leads many people to adopt less cooperative strategies and encourage dropouts in order not to be exploited by people belonging to corrupt networks. As a consequence of the above, in many countries, it generates abstention and loss of interest in politics, for prolonged periods. Of course, occasionally, protest movements appear that try to confront political power, and generate political instability and subsequently political or police repression.

Impact

According to Johnston (1986), he points out that corruption leads to certain states that, to be valued, would have to be compared with situations where there was no corruption, which are hardly predictable for a society that has experienced the existence of corrupt practices; Even if well -defined hypothetical situations could be analyzed, “we cannot really say whether or not corruption helps a system surviving. At most, we can discuss its role as a process that operates in a system altered by corruption ”

Solutions

• Assume and foster sensitivity towards fraud and corruption, having knowledge of the damage they cause and the importance of eliminating these offenses.
• Promoting transparency in political parties and public institutions.
• Increasing social control over institutions.
• Stimulate honesty in citizens.

Bibliographic references

• Boris Begovic, corruption: concepts, types, causes and consequences
• Michael Johnston, "The Political Conquences of Corruption", Comparative Politics, Vol. 18 N ° 4, July 1986, pp. 459-477.