Corruption: Where to draw the line

Corruption takes many forms. It is not easy to draw a line to define corruption. The definition of corruption no longer fits into a definite pattern as the ways of corrupt practices are becoming increasingly wide ranging.

Definition of corruption may vary from culture to culture and country to country, but what is important is the tolerance of corruption in a society. Unfortunately, the level of tolerance of corruption in our country is at present much higher than it ever was in the past. Corruption is occurring before the eyes of the citizens but nobody is paying any heed to it. It seems as though it is predestined for the commoners to suffer the pangs of all-pervasive corruption.

In 2001, Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo, while lecturing on the rise of corruption in his country, said, "You should not confuse corruption with bribe taking". His argument was that only those officials with links to organised criminal gangs should be called corrupt.

Possibly, the word corruption is also in need of a similar redefinition in our country. It is no longer clear what corruption is, because nothing appears to be scandalous anymore. We know the people who take bribe. We know those who thrive on cheating. What we don't know is where to draw the line.

It is said that corruption is as old as human history. But that isn't the problem in our country, because we are increasingly becoming confused over what corruption is. If corruption is old, it is also getting bold. In these days, it is hard to tell who is corrupt because everything is 'kosher in the brotherhood of crooks'.

The situation currently prevailing in the country is traumatising. In this country, tax dodgers can turn out to be advisors to the government, smugglers can become politicians with mighty muscle power to dictate things as they wish them to be.  Evils can wear the veils of honesty.

It is said that corruption exists everywhere in the world. It is said that pure gold does not make ornaments. They say so just to justify their misdeeds. Suddenly, this country is on a flip. There is a silent corruption going on to legitimise corruption.

Corruption is going on in two ways. One is the internalisation of corruption. This is how, corrupt people justify their actions and adjust themselves to their misdeeds and continue to do it. This is also how they hold their heads high before family and friends. The other way is intellectualisation. Here the battle is fought at a higher level. And the warriors are all intelligent and educated people. People in this class try to build a conception in the minds of the masses that nothing is wrong with breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. While internalisation develops acceptance of corruption at individual levels, intellectualisation is aimed to promote tolerance among a large number of people.

George Orwell once wrote, "To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others." Yes, in this country love means nothing if we don't love us more than others. The sons of powerful parents always get the favour. It automatically assumes that those who are privileged, always have the first right to privilege.

It is the character of nepotism that has taken many forms as societies evolved from feudalism to democracy, to market economy and privileges transformed from subservience to loyalty to transaction. In older days, the aristocracy enjoyed a privileged status by virtue of its social position. In democracy, privilege went to people who are close to power. But the market economy has taught the spirit of 'give and take'. Favour for favour works fine, but it is destructing the talents of those who are not able to give bribe. But the fact is that bribers don't know that one way or another they are destructing themselves because they also live in a society.

Thus, we can say that the face of corruption has changed, while the body remained the same. The same set of malpractices is still there, but those malpractices have become more universal. In other words, privilege is no longer the source of corruption. Instead corruption has become a privilege.

Corruption must be treated like any other crime. People have murderous tendencies but that cannot justify murder. People have the habit of stealing, but that cannot condone theft. People have lust for sex but that doesn't rationalise rape. All these crimes exist in every country, yet every country makes laws to prevent them because corruption breeds corruption and, given an inch, takes a whole yard.

If we turn on our television we often hear discussants on television shows saying that corruption cannot be eliminated and that it exists everywhere. And these are said in a manner as if doctors wanted to reassure their patients. That makes it a suspect that organised efforts are underway to establish corruption as a fact of life. There is a growing tendency to ignore corruption because so many of us have become corrupt.

The writer is a student, department of accounting and information systems, University of Dhaka. [email protected]