Political Corruption

The shock waves created by the corrupt activities of some politicians in recent years have stormed many nations. Political corruption is a worldwide problem that has existed from time immemorial. The contemporary capitalist mode of production and the liberated media, however, have made it a manifest social, economic, and political pathology.

Politics is a struggle for power and authority. Unmistakably, this struggle is the offspring of corruption, and power cannot be realized without money. Therefore, the politician, like the Mafia, wants money for the power it can buy. In this vein, it is difficult for most people to wield power with equity and moderation. The desire to rule and the exercise of authority teach fraud and violence; power is an agent of corruption (Ebbe 1990).

Because absolute power corrupts absolutely, the monarchies of yesteryear, to safeguard their thrones, ordered the assassination, execution, or exile of their citizens in the name of national security. To attain their political gains, some politicians are unscrupulous in their choice of means. They resort to Machiavellianism—“the end justifies the means”—with some ending up in shame and disaster.

Spiro T. Agnew in 1968. He served as vice president of the United States from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard M. Nixon. Agnew was forced to resign when he was investigated and charged with being involved in extortion, bribery, and income tax evasion while he was an elected official and governor of Maryland in the 1960s.

© Corbis; used with permission.

There are many dimensions of corruption. Citizens need to know when a politician's behavior is unethical, criminal, immoral, or corrupt. However, there is one conceptual problem in the study of corruption, whether it is found in politics, law enforcement, civil service, or business—definition. There is no satisfactory conceptual definition of corruption. Some politicians have gone beyond Black's Law Dictionary definition, which is, “Corruption is an act with intent to gain some advantage inconsistent with official duty and the rights of others. The act of an official or fiduciary person who unlawfully and wrongfully uses his station or character to procure some benefit for himself or for another person, contrary to duty and the rights of others” (Black 1979: 331).

In dealing with political corruption, this definition becomes a clear guide. This means that when a politician robs or burglarizes a household, it is not corruption but simply robbery or burglary. Political corruption is confined to those illegal activities engaged in by politicians who, in the course of their services as elected officials, use their positions to consummate an illegal operation that otherwise could have not been possible. In political corruption, the politician receives either a bribe in lieu of fair competition or a quid pro quo. Political corruption also occurs when “property is obtained from another by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right” (18 U.S.C.A. et seq., 1951). In addition, political corruption can be “receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence action as an official or in discharge of legal or public duty” (Allen v. State, 516–519). Also, it can be “the corrupt tendering or receiving of a price for official action” (State v. London, 2d 548, 554).

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