Dear Friends,
It seems to me… corruption begins at the top and works it’s way down. Therefore, you can tell how corrupt the entire organization of government is, by how much corruption there is at the lowest levels. Not only governmental corruption, social systemic corruption can also be measured by the level of corruption at the first level of government. This is important because, “a corrupt society can never be free…” as Machiavelli said. We, as a people, accept a certain level of corruption ourselves. From being happy we were let off a speeding ticket, getting an upper hand in court because we are lodge brothers with a judge, to turning a blind eye to the CIA smuggling cocaine into the US. Why do we, as a people, accept open boarders that lead to human trafficking? That we accept the corruption allows it to grow.
Government is always hierarchical. Which means there are various levels of government. The first level are the police, TSA, FBI agents, meat inspectors, the people who give driver license tests, etc… basically, civil servants. The second level are their managers, the third, are the second’s managers, and so on. The top is always the President, Congress and the Supreme Court, in a three branch structure. Coequal powers, supposedly with checks and balances. In the US, for example, a three branch structure, the Presidency is limited in time to eight years. This insures that even if a corrupt President is elected, his ability to harm is limited. The ability of corrupt officials then is increased as the lengths of their terms increase. Because, the longer they are in power, the deeper they can root their corruption.
Corruption must flow down, because it isn’t human nature to be influenced by one’s “inferiors,” but by one’s “superiors.” We don’t emulate our employees, but we do imitate those above us, that after all, is the path upward. Do as those who climb the ladder do, not as those who are stagnant do. Moreover, it is very difficult for a subordinate to chastise their manager for corruption, while it is the job of a manager to control for corruption. If a congress is corrupted, the people they oversee will always be instruments of that corruption. Because, that is the power members of congress wield, to corrupt. Then, those people must corrupt those below… to enable the corruption of those above. There is resistance of course. This slows but doesn’t stop the flow of corruption.
Corruption and tyranny are in most cases synonymous. Those engaged in corruption must use some form of threat to keep those around and below them silent. That threat can be tacit, or open, but it needs to be there. In the most basic definition, that in and of itself, is a form of oppression. Oppression then must follow the flow of corruption. Once the flow of corruption has reached the bottom, there must also be intimidation, from the top to the bottom. That leads to Bastiat’s The Law. Where law is used against the service of justice and put to the use of injustice. Like when the police seize cash from someone who is not charged with a crime, or when the CIA is importing cocaine, the law is used as a means of corruption… and with corruption comes intimidation and oppression.
Once corruption has reached the very bottom, the civil servants if you will, you know every level above is corrupt. What to do about it though? Since a corrupt government is held together by the strongest glue, the fear of exposure, it will not, and indeed cannot clean itself up. This is why there is revolution, and an even more corrupt government is ushered in, because the leaders of revolutions are almost always psychopaths, or, they eventually become sociopaths. That is the evolution of revolution. From corrupt to utterly corrupt. Vary rarely does a group of revolutionaries come together and form a government that doesn’t build the levers of corruption right into their “constitutions.” That is why it is so important not to tolerate any corruption in government in the first place.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
