Descriptive Notes on Corruption, Politics and Democracy
by For centuries saints and sages have urged the people to eliminate graft and corruption from private as well as public life; there have been countless sermons against this deep-rooted menace that has eaten into the vitals of society, distorted all values and made mincemeat of morality, truth and virtue.
But the evil has grown to gigantic proportions and there is hardly any sphere of social, economic, political and even religious activity that is free from graft, deception and corruption of some kind. Like the air we breathe, it has become all-pervasive and entered every aspect of life to such an extent that it is now regarded as a fact of life and an evil we have to live with.
In fact, a time has come when very few eyebrows are raised when we are informed of a case of blatant bribery; it is so common, so usual and all too familiar. We give and take bribes in the sphere of education, government and private service, all branches of administration, trade and commerce, industrial activity; scrupulous honesty is rare; even temples and other places of worship are not free of it. Most of our politicians and legislators indulge in it without any qualms of conscience.
The great philosopher and reformer Edmund Burke warned the world in the 18th century that corrupt influence, which is itself the perennial spring of all prodigality and of all disorder; which loads us, more than millions of debt; which takes away vigor from our arms, wisdom from our councils and every shadow of authority and credit from the most vulnerable parts of our Constitution is a fast growing evil.
The conclusion has, in fact, been drawn that there was never anything devised by the wit of man which, in course of time, has not been corrupted. At one time, it was said that a society in which there is corruption cannot survive long, but this has proved to be a myth.
Corruption has continued, and even increased beyond measure, even as democracy has spread and civilisation has advanced; so it can no longer be asserted that democracy and corruption are incompatible; both are developing fast, and simultaneously, and as far as human vision can go this duality will continue.
Hasn’t the time come to accept this menace as inevitable, incurable, almost as the price of socialism, progress and civilisation?
It is all right to preach honesty and purity in life, but the preachers either live in a world far removed from reality, or are themselves hypocrites, talking of one thing but doing another, as if their left hand does not know what their right hand does—a veritable case of Jekyll and Hyde.
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