Power Corrupts

There is an old adage.... 'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'

So while politicians are generally viewed as venal characters on the make, democracy works a little better than other systems, becausepeople only have their hands on the corrupting levers of power for so long before the public votes them out. Also the longer a leader remains in office, the more power they accumulate.

It isn't that Tony Blair (of whom I have a VERY low opinion) was better or worse than Hosni Mubarak, it is just that our system got rid of him much quicker, so he had less time to cause damage. Had he been in office for another 20 years, doubtless his children would have got very lucrative jobs.

So, why is it that Britain seems to be in the grip of a real corruption crisis?

If anyone doubts that we are, think back to the following

1) Our political class has been found routinely fiddling its expenses. This was initially done as a means to duck the controversy of raising wages, but got to the point where it was clearly and unambiguously about politicians corruptly enriuching themseves

2) Our politicians have been in the business of selling honours. Many Americans think it is great that British corruptionrevolves around titles rather than money. Do these Americans realise a title sometimes (and not infrequently) comes with a lifetime seat in the upper chamber of our parliament?

3) Our politicians take cash for access

4) Our press can pay off the police

5) Our politicians bow before that same press

6) OUr banks collude to fix rates to enrich themselves and/or make themselves appear stronger

I could go on, but were these things pubic knowledge 20 years ago, we Brits would have been dumbfounded. We have always viewed ourselves as not in the least bit corrupt. No one thinks you can bribe policemen in the UK. But you can, and it happens pretty often.

I think our fundamental problems are twofold, they are

1) That thought that we are somehow incorruptible. Basically, people are people, and everyone has its price. I was talking to a (non British ) cousin of mine years ago. I mentioned that no one was ever caught for corruption in Britian. She said that was a sign of a REALLY corrupt place. I was shocked, this was some time ago. She was right. To minimise corruption, the last thing you do is brush it under the carpet. You need regular convictions 'pour decourager les autres'.

2) We have lost our social mobility. You may think that to be irrelevant. I would beg to differ. The elite in this country knows its children will be part of the next elite generation. There is nothing they can do to lose that status, because there is no social mobility. Every little corrupt trick is passed down from generation to generation, and magnified. There is no one to challenge the status quo, it is a cosy little club. A closed circle where everyone assumes everyone else deserves to be there, and no one else does. We need to start making sure people drop out of and get raised up to that elite far more regularly. Rattle their arrogant sense of security. Keep those knaves on their toes. Like in a proper democracy.