Corrupt Officials

[M. Porcius Cato]

[i'll share my take on corruption in Russia. A lot of individuals I met who we suspected of being involved in some shady operations were personally honest. They'd never steal anything from you or I and they surprisingly understood the effects of corruption on their society. The bottom line was they know that if they don't play hard and fast with the rules then someone else will and will receive the benefits of doing so. The lack of strong institutions and codes; courts, laws, enforcement authorities, corporate governance, transparency, etc. and the erosion of civic mores played a big role in the looting of '90s Russia. There's probably a lesson there applicable to any civilization from the Republic on.

 

Very interesting. Of the factors you mentioned, which was most lacking in Russia--transparency, enforcement, or laws? Sorry--not to take the discussion off of Rome, let me rephrase that: of the factors you mentioned, which one do you think is most important to address in order to reduce corruption, and which do you think was most lacking during the Roman republic?

[Virgil61]

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Very interesting. Of the factors you mentioned, which was most lacking in Russia--transparency, enforcement, or laws? Sorry--not to take the discussion off of Rome, let me rephrase that: of the factors you mentioned, which one do you think is most important to address in order to reduce corruption, and which do you think was most lacking during the Roman republic?

 

Probably a toss up between transparency and enforcement, but I think the decline of civic mores is probably worse than the lack of those three above. I think transparency in corporate governance has increased by leaps and bounds as the Russian economy has sought some foreign investment and WTO ascension--wary investors want to see the books. But when you lose a certain degree of civic mores, when average people get the idea that if they don't bend the rules they'll miss out and look like fools then your society has a problem. I wonder if there's a correlation between that and the influx of wealth into the Republic during its expansion, the absence of much of the citizenry sent overseas for military service, citizens sent out to colonize, loss of small farms etc., leading to a decline in Roman civic mores. Just a thought.