Re: Reaction to Gyekye’s concept of political corruption as “a moral pollution” Despite its current popularity among political scientists, Gyekye rejects the theory that institutional reform is a useful anti-corruption strategy. This leads him to conclude that political corruption is fundamentally a moral problem, to which the “most adequate therapeutic response” is a “serious and profound commitment to our moral beliefs and principals” through what he calls a “moral revolution.” This memo disagrees with Gyekye on both of these points, first criticizing Gyekye for failing to provide a clearly defined alternative framework for his “moral revolution” recommendation, and then arguing that institutional reform, while not without its challenges, is still the best available option. Background In chapter 7 of Tradition and Modernity, Gyekye argues that political corruption is a moral problem, and that a “moral revolution” is needed for public officials to “steel their moral wills to avoid involving themselves in acts of political corruption.” Gyekye begins by defining political corruption as “the illegal, unethical, and unauthorized exploitation of one’s political or official position for personal gain or advantage,” followed by a review of common acts of political corruption, which includes taking a bribe, graft, fraud, kickbacks, the misappropriation of public funds, favoritism, and nepotism. The discussion then turns to the root causes of political corruption, which is the central point of contention for Gyekye. He acknowledged that weak political leadership, certain types of social structures (he mentions communitarianism in African societies), poor economic circumstances, and the lack of adequate legal and institutional frame... ... middle of paper ... ... what works and what does not, and, over time as it identifies effective reforms for its unique system, they can replicate them in other cities, regions, and on up to the national level. This “bottom-up” approach (as opposed to the traditional “top-down”) is an exciting new development for the institutional reform approach to anti-corruption work. Conclusion Although Gyekye provides a thought-provoking examination of political corruption and critique of institutional reform, he ultimately fails to provide a clearly defined alternative framework for his moral revolution recommendation. Institutional reform, while not without its challenges, remains the best available option for resolving political corruption. Works cited: Kwame Gyekye, “Tradition and Modernity: Philosophical Reflections on the African Experience,” Oxford University Press, 1997. 192-216.
The reform movement is typically framed as a progressive achievement in improving corrupt governments that were commonplace in many cities during the time period covered in this chapter, but it ...
Mazrui, Ali A. "The Re-Invention of Africa: Edward Said, V. Y. Mudimbe, and Beyond." Research in African Literatures 36, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 68-82.
When dealing with corruption, first question to ask or to clarify is what corruption is. NSW Research (2002) describes corruption anything from gaining materialistically by virtue of position (for eg. getting a special discount at stores) to engaging in ‘direct criminal activities’ (eg. selling drugs). Newburn (1999) believes that there is a thin line between the definition of ‘corrupt’ and ‘non-corrupt’ activities as at the end, it is an ethical problem. For common people, however, bribery generalises corruption.
Corruption is an individual and institutional process where there is a gain by a public official from a briber and in return receives a service. Between the gain and the service, there is an improper connection, (Thompson p.28). The two major categories of bribery is individual and institutional corruption. Receiving personal goods for the pursuit of one’s own benefit is personal fraud. An example of individual distortion is the financial scandal involving David Durenberger. Organizational corruption involves “receiving goods that are useable primarily in the political process and are necessary for doing a job or are essential by-products of doing it,” (Thompson p.30). An instance of institutional fraud is the Keating Five case. There are also times where there is a mixture of both individual and organizational corruption in a scandal. An example of this diverse combination is James C. Wright Jr. actions while he was the Speaker of the House.
The reason why corruption has become a global problem is because it’s rational to be greedy or wanting for more but soon after it gets out of control and then there is a corrupted person who in order to change would have to step down from power and become a person who doesn’t control.
Many people know about or have witnessed this corruption taking place and numerous attempts to rid of it have been made. It is not an easy task attempting to bring justice to where justice should be made. There ...
...organizations, NGOs, and businesses to eliminate the corruption in order for policies to be more effective and operational.
Fiero, Gloria K. "Africa: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order." The Humanistic Tradition. 6th ed.
Known as a period of political scandal, many politicians engaged in bribes, lies, and abuse of power to further a political, social, and often personal agenda. The typical corrupt leader "will sell his vote for a dollar [...] turns with indifference from the voice of honesty and reason [...] his unalienable right may be valuable to him for the bribe he gets out of it" (166). Such politicians are an injustice to society because as they are elected by the people, they must act towards the betterment of the people, rather than for themselves. Furthermore, those who elect this politician to office merely underestimate their political and social responsibility because they "want the feeling that their own interests are connected with those of the community, and in the weakness or absence of moral and political duty" (167). Thus, under the control of the ruthless politician and the reckless voter, the true essence of democracy is
Toyin, Falola. “The Power of African Cultures.” Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom: University of Rochester Press, 2003. Print
Next, high levels of corruption in a state is crippling to all aspects of governance. Corruption undermines both the capacity to deliver services and the legitimacy of the state in the eyes of citizens and international actors. Corruption such as nepotism and cronyism also decreases participation as citizens become frustrated with the offices of government. The corruption that lower-level Afghan officials participate in gives citizens an impression that the central government is “predatory.” Corruption such as requiring bribes
“Drive the corruption from the land, don’t harbor it any longer, past all cure, don’t nurse it in your soil – root it out!” (164).
In conclusion, in failing to pass both Kantian and consequentialist formulations, bribery is morally wrong. Pragmatically, long term solutions sanctioning bribery are likely to result in public officials changing their decision making in the absence of bribery, and economic models and research on the whole predicts that the results will be costly in terms of economic efficiency, political legitimacy, and equality.
Nairobi: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, 1978. _____________. African Religions and Philosophy. New York: Anchor Books, 1970. Shorter, Aylward.
Montesh, M. (n.d.). Conceptualizing Corruption: Forms, Causes, Types and Consequences. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from