A fight for human values
By Rahul Kanwal

IN the Old Testament, Moses teaches the people of Israel: "Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous."

Some thousand years later, Confucius found in China a corrupt government, and began to set the high moral standards he believed would make for a more harmonious society.

Some thousand years after that, the Koran said: "O my people! Give full measure and full weight in justice.... And do no evil on the earth, causing corruption". Corruption is an old affliction. In the megamedia and information age, the speed of information, the movement of capital, the increase of trade have all magnified the potential impact of corruption. Economically, corruption represents an arbitrary, exorbitant tax. It can lead to wasteful government spending, bigger deficits, greater income inequality, and a crisis of confidence that can spark capital flight, crash the economy, destabilise governments and put people half way across the world out of work.

Corruption thrives in emerging and transitional economies where legal systems are incomplete or evolving. The very complexity, over-regulation and lack of predictability serve as fertile incubators for corruption to grow. Paradoxically, as economies liberalise and open their door to foreign investment and trade, the very processes of change — privatisation, procurement, the sale and licensing of economic rights, and the like — become areas for corruption to flourish. Moreover, the legacy of corruption, combined with low government wages and oversized bureaucracies, also creates significant incentives for corruption to prosper.

The economic dimension of corruption was demonstrated over the last year and-a-half, as the world experienced a financial crisis. In some countries, corruption increased the vulnerability to crises, while in others, corruption was a significant impediment to implementing the necessary response and a major obstacle to restoring the confidence that is so critical to a country’s recovery and stability.

In some countries, corruption is so pervasive it can be a threshold economic issue that undermines a country’s ability to succeed in the global economy. Of course, no region or nation — developed or developing — can claim to be devoid of this malaise. Corruption exists everywhere, but it is especially troubling in developing countries. By diverting the scarce resources that are needed so badly for critical priorities such as health, education and housing, the impact on a less developed economy can be far greater.

With the world becoming a global village, corruption in one country has an impact around the world. No country can seal itself off from the impact of corruption beyond its borders. That is why, all nations must work together to fight corruption wherever it occurs in the world. At the same time, to be able to work well together, a central truth must be acknowledged: No country has a monopoly on virtue. No one has a corner on corruption and no nation has the right to lecture another.

A random sample of any week’s newspapers, TV and magazines might suggest that corruption is on the rise. Everywhere there is talk about its infestation in former empires and its hold on young democracies. Today, the reach of corruption seems long; its power to shake the world seems greater. And yet, there is hope. It is this hope which resides in the successful approaches of the past and growing successes of today. Due to an apparent rise in global corruption — corruption may suddenly (and surprisingly) become more vulnerable than before. Cynics no doubt will mock any optimism in the fight against corruption. But as G.B. Shaw commented: "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Today, there are certain forces which can be of assistance in the fight against corruption. This generation has a powerful weapon which is unique to its time in history, and which could turn the fight in favour of good over evil. First, the world’s tolerance for corruption is fast fading. Gone are the days when corruption was written off as a cost of doing business. Today, in more and more parts of the world, corruption is seen as it should be seen: A serious crime with devastating consequences, as a vicious, often violent sacrifice of citizens’ security, for a narrow, greedy, private, personal profit on the part of a crooked official.

A second force in the fight against corruption is the growing trend towards government reform — or reinventing government. The steps taken to reform government to increase efficiency are the same as the steps taken to reform government to reduce corruption. For example, confusing regulations foster corruption. Adopting fewer, clearer regulations helps to reduce corruption. This is also principle of reinventing government. Monopoly fosters corruption. Diluting monopoly through privatisation and encouragement of competition reduces corruption. This is also a principle of reinventing government.

A lack of accountability fosters corruption. Increasing accountability, by focusing on measurable results, helps reduce corruption. This is also a principle of reinventing government. Therefore, the fight against corruption is not separate from the process of government reform.

The third factor is ethical behaviour. Robert Klitgaard, Dean of The Rand Graduate School in Santa Monica, has developed a formula to gauge the likelihood of corruption. He describes it: C = M + D - A or "corruption equals monopoly plus discretion minus accountability." If you have a monopoly, and you have discretion in applying the rules, and no one is holding you accountable, you are far likelier to become corrupt.

This is a very insightful analysis, particularly if the "inner accountability" of the conscience is taken into account. Immanuel Kant once wrote: "Conscience is not a thing to be acquired...but every man, as a moral being, has it originally within him."

If it is accepted that people, driven by conscience, really do prefer to be honest and clean, then the wisdom in reinventing government and reforming systems to make it easier for people to make ethical choices, becomes apparently clear. The last line in the most famous prayer in the Christian world begins with the words "And lead us not into temptation." A system that reduces temptation and engages conscience will reduce corruption.

The fourth and final factor in the fight against corruption, may well be decisive. In the information age, reform does not survive unless matched with an effort to inform. First inform, then reform. In this case, information may be decisive, because information is the natural enemy of corruption. Corruption thrives on ignorance, not information. It needs secrecy, not transparency. It seeks darkness, not light.

It has always been a legendary trait of organised crime that members of the syndicate would not talk; because talk would kill them. It is the same with corruption today. The free flow of information is the very thing with which corruption cannot abide, and yet the free flow of information is the signature trait of the age in which we live.

There have never been more channels of information, more sources of information, more storehouses of information. Information has never moved more quickly, to more people, with more purpose. Information has never been more prized, more purchased, or more essential to the wealth and success of society. It is the central medium of exchange.

At a time when society’s central industry is the effort to satisfy people’s need to know, it bodes ill for corruption that it lives off the need that no one know, that no one talk, and that no one take action. In fact, the recent examples of successful efforts against corruption come from the power of information, and the action of civil society.

Today, countries can conduct — through their own institutes and NGOs — sophisticated diagnostic surveys of private firms, as well as public and government officials, in order to document the costs of corruption in areas such as customs business licensing and procurement. These cutting edge survey techniques allow nations to highlight priority areas for reform. Based on the research, countries can develop serious, result-oriented "action plans" rather than the typical anti-corruption plans of the past, which more often spent more time gathering dust than garnering results.

It is only once in a rare while, that the cycles of time present us with what historians call an open moment — when some combination of luck and circumstance allow us to choose a better future. The information age, with its advances in science and technology, new medical discoveries, mobile capital, expanded trade, and instantaneous communication offers great opportunities coupled with great risks. There exists today, a rare chance to use the tools of the latest technology in the service of mankind’s oldest values — helping build faith in democracy, improving competitiveness, expand prosperity, expose corruption, and strengthen the system of self-government which is history’s greatest guardian of freedom, equality, opportunity and human dignity.

If a battle is not waged for the upkeep of these values, the information age will simply create more efficient channels for the spread of mischief, mayhem and corruption. Let there be no doubt: This is a fight for human values.