The War On Corruption

Now here is a good idea, one that could be duplicated worldwide. Virtually all conflict has it's basis in economics. Often it is the party that has the most to gain that distorts the truth to those who care and makes an economic conflict into one that is based on fear to cover the tracks of the profiteer. The fear can be about religion, race, or any other emotional flash point for the culture. But it's usually about someone taking more than his share at other's expense. It's often nurtured by corrupt political leaders who distort the truth and call on fear, bigotry, and fanaticism.
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner

The same forces of globalization that shrunk the global marketplace also create a larger space for graft and political grand theft - as well as more opportunity and impetus for voters to resist it. As James Surowiecki recently pointed out in The New Yorker, the pressures for modernization in transitional economies create huge openings for corruption. As leaders privatise utilities and establish new regulatory regimes in a globalized economy, public offices have more lucrative opportunities to steer capital flows, provide safe havens for illicit cash, or lend official imprimatur to private schemes. Political elites are often the last to understand that the people mean business in their calls for reforms. More surprising is the critique that has emerged from some scholars of global affairs, who argue that an overwrought focus on corruption detracts attention from more pressing issues. Last year, Moises Naim, the editor of Foreign Policy, wrote in The Washington Post that "the war on corruption is undermining democracy, helping the wrong leaders get elected and distracting societies from facing urgent problems".


Mr Naim and others are right that a focus on corruption does not always produce progressive results. Hamas won December's Palestinian elections in part by crusading against corruption in the ruling Fatah movement. But those who see a "corruption obsession" are wrong to think voters have misplaced priorities. The scale of corruption often runs into billions of dollars, enough to make a real impact on a country's economy and living standards. That is why voters mostly talk about corruption not as a moral failing, but as an economic problem - and in surveys across many countries they tell us it is a bigger cause of low living standards than bad economic policies.


It therefore makes sense for the World Bank and other agencies to make governance reforms a priority in the development agenda. But the rising scale and toll of corruption also means that it will be more of a first order political issue in more and more countries. Those politicians who take the lead on this issue - explaining its costs, identifying its perpetrators and offering solutions - are likely to find themselves in line with most voters in their national elections and marching in front of what is becoming a global demand for transparency and change.