Responses to Corruption. Crime, Law And Social Change

Responses to Corruption
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Corruption is a pertinent issue affecting many regions around the globe and is widely attributed for its role in escalating poverty levels especially among developing and under-developed nations. While corruption is widely understood as a crime, public sector employees hold divergent ideas as to what constitutes corrupt behaviors. Consequently, they are hindered from instituting effective measures that would address corrupt dealings in their institutions. According to the article, corruption is defined in terms of its legal implications, public interest, and public opinion (Gorta & Forell, 1995). Legally, corrupt behavior is witnessed whenever there is a violation of some established rules. Public interest definition of corruption relates to instances when there is a betrayal of public trust. Lastly, public opinion holds that there are socially-defined behaviors that distinguish right and wrong. Overall, society mostly adjudges scenarios to be corrupt when they are illegal, result in large and direct payoffs, and when they involve public officials.
The article goes further to note that there are several corrupt behaviors that are excused and deemed acceptable in different workplaces. For instance, it shares that there are cases where the theft property of uncertain ownership has been accepted as long it’s within a tolerable amount. Similarly, it offers an example of how members of the British parliament justify their corrupt...