Quote of the Day
Mon, 2008-08-04 20:59
A good quote on government corruption from Rushworth M. Kidder, from
his Ethics
Newsline (which you can get as a weekly e-newsletter with links). I
highly recommend his book Moral Courage, which I reviewed in a blog entry last year.
[C]orruption involves the hubris and
selfishness of power. It requires subterfuge and lack of transparency.
It poisons the atmosphere of trust, making cynics of the citizenry. It
rides roughshod over honest competitors in business or politics who
refuse to bribe. It creates the illusion of a decently refereed playing
field while biasing every call. In other words, it attacks the moral
roots of free, fair, and open democracies, rendering them exclusive,
deceitful, and opaque.
The quote is in response to people who wonder what's so awful about
corruption.
