Corruption and a Culture

Corruption is a major problem in India because it is ok to be corrupt. It is easy to write off the corrupt as morally inferior by choice as proclaimed by some self-righteous groups. But is that the case? Some of the corrupt are our average good people who would not hurt others intentionally. This article is concerned with that major fraction of the corrupt. Let us leave out criminals, who by force or authority directly involve in misdeeds, from the discussion.  I think it is the nature of moral decisions, the underlying mainstream cultural values and the overt ignorance of many people including our leaders about the conditions and nature of human existence that has created a system in which it is ok to be corrupt. Several ideas in this article are just intuitions about why certain things are the way they are. These are not outcomes of a careful study of the problem. But I hope it has a point or two to mull over for some.

Many of us won't kill a person to take his belongings or intentionally destroy the ambitions and lives of others. However, in reality the link between our actions and effects have long hands that are not always obvious. Studies on moral behavior report that when the causal chain is slightly extended, people are more willing to commit wrong actions than when the causal chain is direct. There are several examples in real life situations where this seems to be true. Most people who would never force a girl into prostitution or sex slavery indirectly support such acts by visiting strip clubs or watching porn. Many people who would never support smuggling or theft directly don't mind watching pirated movies. Many non-vegetarians cringe at the sight of animals being hurt, but they don't mind having them on dinner plate. All these cases can be partially explained by the long causal chain. May be an increased awareness about the links between our actions and their consequences may reduce the propensity for such wrong actions. I think it is an important factor in many cases. In most cases of corruption, the direct consequence of the action doesn't involve the life and death of an individual or even stealing others' property. Hence the corrupt generally don't feel morally culpable and a system inconsistent with its values provides the context for corruption.

We are right in condemning corrupt officials as they have the responsibility to run a system in a proper and fair way. But it is equally important for us to introspect, as the general pubic provides the context for corruption. How many of us have bribed an officer, not because he wants bribe to do a particular job, but we want some preference to expedite the process? Honestly, many even take pride in their ability to get things done this way. Many of us have heard “See how far my influence goes” kind of boastings. People don't mind buying seats in colleges, seats that rightfully belong to others. But we do complain, rightfully so, when politicians buy votes, their means to a livelihood. Why do we condemn buying votes? Because it obviously undermines democracy. Doesn't a system where you can buy college seats ahead of better qualified candidates undermine meritocracy. The two cases seem unrelated, but several disparate systems are inter-related. For example, a honest officer without the means to buy a better education for his son or daughter may be forced to accept bribes. He may not lust over money, but his or her love for his son or daughter may even make it seem right for him to accept bribes. The way we structure one system affects other domains in a much larger system of which it is a part. Imagine a system where more money doesn't mean better education or opportunities at any level. Wouldn't that favor a less corrupt society to some extent? We can't devise one system where money does the speaking and expect abstract ideals to be the main player in other systems. After all these are just are parts of a bigger system that forms the society.

It is instructive to analyze what the corrupt end up valuing and how our mainstream cultural values align with that. Let us the take the example of a government official who is drawing a salary enough for a decent living. What all could be the reasons that makes him demand or accept bribes? Some are pretty obvious reasons such as increasing material comforts, improving status with regard to material possessions and the social circle one moves in, for buying a better future for his children, to marry his/her daughter in to a good family, or to get improved access to entertainment and pleasure. All these are honest aspirations for anyone in modern society. In fact our mainstream culture values all these aspirations so much that someone who doesn't have these are mocked at. Our society is characterized by unequal income distributions with some industries performing better than others and economic inequalities only exacerbate the problem. Our education system also favors the rich, which further increases their chances of getting good jobs and hence a better life. The corrupt are pursuing the same ends as anybody else. Only that they make certain compromises to achieve the ends. In many cases, the consequences of these compromises are not even obvious. We have already seen how the frequency of wrong actions increases if the chain between cause and effect is long. So the corrupt often don't feel they are committing a crime, only compromises that can buy you a better life. What tangible benefits does anyone get for not making that compromise? May be that person will be considered as straight forward and may take some pride in that. But pride and honesty can't buy you a better life in this world. In a materialistic society with inequalities in wealth, opportunities, status, and possibilities of success , being corrupt seems to be the logical and a practical way to a better life. In fact we should be surprised if corruption is not so prevalent in our country. This simple example illustrates that corruption might be the symptom of a systemic problem that has its roots in our cultural values, in the inequalities in wealth and opportunities that plague our society and the way we have structured certain systems.

It is imperative to ask what it means to have a better life, as it seems to be the aspiration for everyone. It is generally our cultural values that defines what a good life is. Any country at any time will have a mix of cultural values. But the dominant one tends to be the mainstream culture. Needless to say, our mainstream culture values material comforts, status, pleasure and individual achievement. There is nothing inherently wrong in these pursuits. But when it comes into conflict with ideas like justice and morality, what we value more determines our cultural identity. Several thinkers like John Rawls have argued that justice should be the primary characteristic of human systems. While India has progressed economically, we have failed to a large extent in upholding some of the highest ideals of humanity. If we believe leading highly moral lives is a better life, our aspirations will be different from what we see in our mainstream culture. To a large extent, mostly unintentionally, we've created systems that has made leading moral lives very difficult. What is surprising is that ours is one of the oldest civilization with several great thinkers devoting their lives to the analysis of moral systems and dilemmas. Our history and mythology is replete with characters who have led exemplary moral lives and have upheld ideals like justice more than anything else. We are sadly a nation that has forgot the best ideals our civilization has upheld and fighting over mere symbols that stand for those ideals.

It would be incomplete and wrong to dismiss our culture as simply a materialistic culture that has lost its roots. India is still the spiritual capital of the world. If we look at the concept of duty in Indian culture, it may suggest it is a deontological ethical system. It is different from the Kantian system in that it doesn't have the idea of universalizing a maxim. For example, in the Kantian system it is wrong to lie even if that lie can save a life because of the universalization of a maxim. But in the Indian system, it is ok to lie if that lie can save a life. It is relative and depends on the contingencies of the situation. It is a flexible system and I feel it is the same flexibility that gives a lot of room for error. On top of that what if there is a conflict between our multiple duties. What if the duty to provide a better life for children conflicts with the duty to perform a job in the right way?  I think these are important moral and cultural issues we need to grapple with to understand the prevalence of corruption.

There remains the question why we should honor principles of justice and morality and what benefit do we get? Some thinkers like Roger Penrose suggest that there may be a world of moral codes like the platonic world of mathematical objects that some humans are able to access through an as yet unknown process. The beauty of a deontological (rule based) system is that it helps to transcend the limited experience of the self and subscribe to timeless principles. Regardless of one's preferences, pleasurable or not, performing one's duties in a self-less way is the right way says Bhagavad Gita. Self-less action is a concept that crops up in every major spiritual tradition.  Regardless of whether we subscribe to all these philosophies or not, laws made on the basis of some principles of justice help in the proper functioning of a system. The laws do evolve. But at any point of time we can only devise systems with whatever laws we have access to. We should all remember that every time we compromise on a principle to satisfy some personal end, we are compromising on the functioning of a system and hence affect several human lives in the present and future. We should all remember that every compromise we make widens the gap between what humanity could be and what it is. That is betraying the society and humanity at large.

A systemic problem such as corruption warrants a careful study of the multiple cultural, moral, institutional and societal factors that make it a disease akin to cancer in a society. While it is important to treat the symptoms of a disease it is also necessary to find its root causes and prescribe a course of action for the cure. Let us hope that some of the best minds of today work towards a better understanding of the problem and eventually its cure. I'm sure that there will be significant contribution from our past thinkers and philosophers. We are looking for answers and it doesn't matter where it comes from. I sincerely hope people at least have an open mind to recognize it. But isn't there anything we can do right now? 

As ordinary citizens where can we start to make changes? The proponents of virtue ethics will tell us to start with behavioral changes that will eventually change our beliefs. In the book “The Tipping Point” the author mentions a social experiment in which making small changes in the environment produced a marked decline in crime rate. Whether there is any real correlation between the two is still uncertain, but it may be worth a try. Even today we don't form queues in public places, don't mind playing music in blaring speakers regardless of whats happening at the neighbor's place and still dirty our public places. These are only considered as indecencies. But this is a way of life in which we are not respecting others' rights. It is important that we learn to respect others' rights in small ways before we do so in other important domains. May be like what the virtue ethicists say changing our behavior in small ways may help us do so in other important situations.This is something we all can do.

The ongoing protests against corruption are needed to awake the nation from its slumber. However, unless the common man begins to value justice more than pleasure, status and wealth, corruption will remain a problem in this country. Such a change may be difficult but not impossible. This is India and we only have to look back to our ancestors for inspiration. Even in modern India there is a significant fraction leading highly moral lives despite crushing poverty. Our task here is to create systems that facilitate moral behavior and increase awareness about the consequences of our actions in an increasingly inter-dependent world. So let us all take an oath to uphold the highest human ideals and move forward. A bright future awaits us.