The state is impersonal; an Argentinean only understands personalistic relationships. That is why, for him, stealing pubic funds is not a crime,” said Jorge Luis Borges, in an attempt to explain why, in Argentina, corruption is the coin of the realm. If we add to this expressions that promote cronyism, such as that used by…
FPIN member Roberto Laver's "How might faith-based actors play a role in changing values and norms of corruption?" originally published on the Corruption and Fragile States Blog of the Fletcher School on March 29, 2021 Having grown up in Argentina, with its consistently high levels of societal corruption, I am quite familiar with the significant…
Corruption, as an expression of profound injustice, should matter to believers, in relation to our own behaviour and witness and to the social order in which we live. The COVID pandemic crisis is a wake-up call for the church, its leaders and all followers of Jesus, that fighting corruption is central to our integral mission. Corruption matters to God immensely. We need to pay attention to corruption now more than ever.
Corruption affects us all. Resources are used for the wrong purposes and are unfairly divided. It weakens our democracy and trust in our leaders. It eats away at our ethics and corrodes our moral fibre. It discourages public and private investment. It slows down economic growth and development. The annual cost of corruption is estimated…
There are many definitions of corruption, but the most common definition is: The abuse of entrusted authority for private gain. Corruption crosses all sectors - public, private, and social. Corruption comes in many forms such as bribery and embezzlement, but also includes other practices that do not involve money, like unfair favoritism and nepotism. Each form…
I don't like corruption. I am disappointed that I can't trust the police to protect my rights. I dislike my government using my taxes to build private empires rather than public infrastructure. But on the other hand, I actually don't mind paying a little something to get out of legal trouble. It's nice when someone…
