The Psychology of Corruption (1)

Written By: Tosin Ajogbeje/Date: 2022/08/20

Something has been on my mind lately? Must we only attribute corruptible practices to a demagogue? 

Are people inherently corrupt or are liable to be corrupt when empowered? What makes people venal in a capitalist society? Considering that upholding ethical leadership is fundamental to ruling a nation, the attitude towards kleptocracy itself is downplayed.  In a Psychology Today article, Jack Schafer highlights the connection between corruption and happiness. 

Cheerful people will do anything to become overjoyed by resorting to tyrannical tactics to obtain power or to maintain power. Another article in the Atlantic indicates that feeling powerful can in some way get to our heads. 

With enormous power given to someone, corruption could strike. Corruption solely masks personal insecurities. When power is stripped away, it not only reveals insecurity, but likewise unhappiness. To keep this insatiable happiness going, then the corrupted person or clique must deepen their grip on power.

In a famed letter from John Dalberg-Acton to Bishop Creighton, he points out that “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority.” What other axiom can say this better or what canon can we follow to avoid corruption? 

Maybe, corruption is highly ingrained in society. A relative focus on power is that it can be either corrupting or not, but certainly freeing.  While in power, one can be whoever they want to be. The choosing dictatorial game now plays here. In most cases, powerful people rarely remember the constraints to a goal, they see the amount of choice available, minimize risks to enjoy dominance.

We can say here that powerful people are capable of feeling entitled because of the bulk of liberty they are accustomed to. Research claims that corruption includes misallocation of resources, represses investment, innovation, entrepreneurship, growth, and productivity in modern times.

Corruption encompasses when modern governments deviate from enforcing the rules that guarantee social cohesion, personal freedom, and collective well-being.  In organizations, corruption is widely entrenched in systems involving embezzlement at local levels and bribery scandals.

The socio-implications of corruption are not far-fetched. For example, corruption in African countries continues to restrain economic growth, good governance and basic freedoms to hold governments to account or voice out urgent concerns in a region. Because corruption affects the wellbeing of communities, there is a greater need to understand how to make a difference and build trust in citizenry.

According to a World Bank article, corruption can trigger efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030 and strengthen shared prosperity for the poorest individuals in developing countries. Knowing that corruption continues to have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations around the world, why must this topical issue be addressed? Research states that impoverished communities may be preyed upon since they are seen as powerless to protest or complain.

Corruption emerges from feelings of discontent, unhappiness, and the need for recognition. If one becomes a member of a corrupt group that does not reprimand illegal activities, then this intensifies corruption even further. More power and status is given to corrupt groups that acknowledge their singularity as appropriate. Research highlights how corrupt associations establish their own identities by selecting unique names for their groups. People who  belong to corrupt alliances tend to accommodate peculiar values of the alliance, making them validate one another’s activities. 

So, these corrupt groups adapt to their new norm. If the moral context of a society discredits credible formalities, it creates a haven for corrupt leaders to keep misleading. Additionally, corrupt people mostly seek personal gain and do not share common community values. Again, the more powerful the corrupt association is, the more corrosive and rooted the corrupted groups become. 

Just like an addictive drug, insecure leaders successively crave power. And the fastest way for insecure persons to evolve than others is to boost themselves. Especially if these insecure people don’t have the essential skills to succeed, they resort to dishonest practices.

Research notes that today’s political and social climate is more friendly to corruption. People who don’t have power want to take power and those who have power want to keep it at all costs.

As mentioned earlier, we should take action and end corruption once and for all. In biblical doctrine, Gen 6:12 says that “God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” So does this mean Corruption is as old as the bible or human history?

Acknowledging this, what quick fix strategies can we employ to tackle corruption and how can nations tackle corruption? My next blog will focus on this. 

References

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/governance/brief/anti-corruption

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%206%3A12&version=KJV

https://theconversation.com/from-our-ancestors-to-modern-leaders-all-do-it-the-story-of-corruption-102164

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201808/the-psychopathology-corruption

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/power-doesnt-corrupt-it-just-exposes-who-leaders-really-are/2019/02/22/f5680116-3600-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/07/how-power-corrupts-the-mind/277638/

https://socialism.com/fs-article/corruption-part-parcel-capitalist-system/

https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/24/some-countries-really-are-more-corrupt-than-others/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/power-doesnt-corrupt-it-just-exposes-who-leaders-really-are/2019/02/22/f5680116-3600-11e9-854a-7a14d7fec96a_story.html

https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/does-being-large-country-lead-higher-corruption

https://www.transparency.org/en/news/citizens-speak-out-about-corruption-in-africa

https://unsplash.com/photos/joqWSI9u_XM