Because corruption does not enter the every day lives of a British citizen.
The policeman isn’t going to pull you over for some bullshit reason, and demand £50 from you.
The person at the DVLA isn’t going to randomly demand you give them £30 if you want to get your drivers license application dealt with this century.
The border guard isn’t going to ask you for £500 if you want to come into the country.
It’s pretty obvious why corruption that targets citizens directly is seen as much worse than corruption at the top that just means one faceless corporation loses out to another faceless corporation.
In the UK, corruption is nebulous. Something you know is happening, but doesn’t impact your life in any measurable way.
In lots of Africa, corruption is an almost daily thing that hits you direct in your pocket. Something you literally might need to budget for..
>This is despite the fact that African scholars have long traced the roots of corruption to colonialism.
Ah yes, I am sure there was no corruption before the white man brought it to African shores… Fucking hell, corruption is so obviously a human trait. It’s everywhere. People always want more, and they’ll always be willing to bend the rules to get more.
The issue is what constitutes ‘more’.. In africa, there’s often not a strong state apparatus that will punish individuals corrupt practices. In the west, there is.
That £50 someone might be able to extract from a motorist for a bullshit traffic stop, is not worth it if it results in losing their £30k job and a day in court. That’s all that really keeps normal people from also getting in on the corruption game in the west.
That’s what keeps corruption out of the every day life of the Brit, and only at the top echelons of politics where it’s just nebulous and not of true consequence to Joe Bloggs.
Because the whole country isnt corrupt, a part of the government is
A lovely straw man analysis. Interesting opinion piece.
Thanks for you inout aljazeera I’m pretty sure one of the major differences is British politicians are caught and punished for it whilst African politicians live like kings until they die or they get coup’d.
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Because corruption does not enter the every day lives of a British citizen.
The policeman isn’t going to pull you over for some bullshit reason, and demand £50 from you.
The person at the DVLA isn’t going to randomly demand you give them £30 if you want to get your drivers license application dealt with this century.
The border guard isn’t going to ask you for £500 if you want to come into the country.
It’s pretty obvious why corruption that targets citizens directly is seen as much worse than corruption at the top that just means one faceless corporation loses out to another faceless corporation.
In the UK, corruption is nebulous. Something you know is happening, but doesn’t impact your life in any measurable way.
In lots of Africa, corruption is an almost daily thing that hits you direct in your pocket. Something you literally might need to budget for..
>This is despite the fact that African scholars have long traced the roots of corruption to colonialism.
Ah yes, I am sure there was no corruption before the white man brought it to African shores… Fucking hell, corruption is so obviously a human trait. It’s everywhere. People always want more, and they’ll always be willing to bend the rules to get more.
The issue is what constitutes ‘more’.. In africa, there’s often not a strong state apparatus that will punish individuals corrupt practices. In the west, there is.
That £50 someone might be able to extract from a motorist for a bullshit traffic stop, is not worth it if it results in losing their £30k job and a day in court. That’s all that really keeps normal people from also getting in on the corruption game in the west.
That’s what keeps corruption out of the every day life of the Brit, and only at the top echelons of politics where it’s just nebulous and not of true consequence to Joe Bloggs.
Because the whole country isnt corrupt, a part of the government is
A lovely straw man analysis. Interesting opinion piece.
Thanks for you inout aljazeera I’m pretty sure one of the major differences is British politicians are caught and punished for it whilst African politicians live like kings until they die or they get coup’d.