essay on corruption two pages
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Answer:
Corruption
Corruption is the abuse or misuse of public resources, power, and/or office
for financial or other personal gains. It is the use of illegal and illegitimate means to
acquire an advantage in private or public positions. Corrupt people lack the virtues
of integrity, honesty, and moral principle. Corruption has greatly increased in the
world since the late 1980s and early 1990s, with many post-communist countries in
particular being greatly affected. There has been a lot of debate on the causes of
corruption and the factors that have led to its spread and growth around the world.
Factors contributing to corruption
Neo-liberalism and corruption
One of the major factors that contributed to the apparent rise and spread
of corruption, and which is a subject of ongoing debate, is the neo-liberalism that started in the 1970s and 1980s. Neo-liberalism is mainly about promoting free markets, trade, competition, and consumption as well as reduced state regulation, control, and other roles. More importance is placed on the end than the means. There is a lack of conceptuality and reduced emphasis on the rule of law in most corrupt societies where the process of liberalization has led to the weakening and delegitimizing of state power and control.
There have been many arguments about the relationship between neo-liberal measures, including policies of free trade and investment, and corruption—especially in post-communist countries (Holmes, 1999). Neo-liberalism has been highly credited with economic growth and increased investment; it is seen as an important factor for development in many countries. However, as globalization takes effect and local and international enterprises compete for new markets and business ventures, corrupt business practices are inevitable. There are restrictions, obstacles, and
barriers within bureaucratic systems of countries and international markets that can lead to these practices.
International quarters and trade tariffs, which lead to varying prices of goods and other special treatment, can result in enterprises bribing key players in order to take advantage. According to Williams and Bear (1999), the administration of exemptions and restrictions within countries involves complex, complicated procedures that only bureaucracies can perform. As a result, this complexity can encourage corrupt practices in government offices as well. Although there are organizations and agencies that act as watch dogs, without enough regulation and follow up, a lot must still be done to reduce the spread of this vice. Existing systems of corruption form a large web that includes local and international participants, and it is hard to completely trace its course, especially in developing countries where efforts to fight corruption are underfunded and not taken seriously.
Poverty
Another factor that leads to corruption in most developing economies is
poverty. The prevalence of poverty leads to a lack of education, health care, and other basic necessities. This means that poor people do not have knowledge of their own rights and are not aware of the responsibilities of the authorities. Most impoverished people are apathetic toward economic and social developments in their countries because they have to first deal with their own domestic challenges.
In many communities where public infrastructure and service delivery are
extremely poor, the mushrooming of private enterprise leads to the exploitation of the meager resources of the poor as they seek better services, especially in the health and education sectors. For example, a doctor in a public health center receives a salary at the end of every month but only comes on appointment because he also has his own private clinic (Das, 2006). Most corrupt practices in poor countries take place without anyone reporting them, either because nobody realizes what is happening or the people who have the will to stop it are not strong enough to face
the forces behind the vice .
Conclusion
The debate on the factors that lead to corruption and the ways through which
it can be controlled continue across the world. Measures that have been taken to
fight corruption include controlling the flow of foreign investment and reducing or
completely withdrawing aid from developing countries that have corrupt systems in
place. National and international media groups together with monitoring agencies
like Transparency International have also played a big role in exposing corruption.
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