The Culture of Corruption

This month (or was it last?) the media have been trumpeting tales of terrorism, but last month (or was it the one before?) corruption was on the menu—that of Ferdinand and Imelda. Corruption is a safe topic. Safest of all is to speak of corruption in the Third World, especially when awful reactionaries can be accused, like Marcos, the Shah, Somoza, any of our abandoned allies.

We speak less of corruption under regimes that still enjoy our fragile friendship, like Diem in the past and Chun these days. Yet one time in Senegal I found that 240 public officials had been jailed for taking bribes. In Morocco, patients were obliged to pay for the bedsheets and pillows in hospitals. If they could not, they were thrown out the back door. In Madagascar, the government collects all the rural produce and pays for it what it wants, but deals can be made with the local party potentate. In Egypt or India, you may not pass customs unless you give a gratuity to the official in charge: If you are lucky, a few coins, a ballpoint pen, a lipstick may do. In India, again, people drop a little extra in the hands of a cop or train conductor; if the suspect or passenger refuses to pay, his wife may be raped.

TM

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Thomas Molnar

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This month (or was it last?) the media have been trumpeting tales of terrorism, but last month (or was it the one before?) corruption was on the menu—that of Ferdinand and Imelda. Corruption is a safe topic. Safest of all is to speak of corruption in the Third World, especially when awful reactionaries can be accused, like Marcos, the Shah, Somoza, any of our abandoned allies.

We speak less of corruption under regimes that still enjoy our fragile friendship, like Diem in the past and Chun these days. Yet one time in Senegal I found that 240 public officials had been jailed for taking bribes. In Morocco, patients were obliged to pay for the bedsheets and pillows in hospitals. If they could not, they were thrown out the back door. In Madagascar, the government collects all the rural produce and pays for it what it wants, but deals can be made with the local party potentate. In Egypt or India, you may not pass customs unless you give a gratuity to the official in charge: If you are lucky, a few coins, a ballpoint pen, a lipstick may do. In India, again, people drop a little extra in the hands of a cop or train conductor; if the suspect or passenger refuses to pay, his wife may be raped.