The day of the fight against corruption: is it possible to defeat the carrot and stick
December 9 in the member countries of the UN marks the international day of fight against corruption.
This decision was adopted on 31 October 2003, when the General Assembly adopted the Convention of United Nations against corruption. The Assembly decided that “to deepen the understanding of corruption and the role of the Convention in preventing corruption and combating it, 9 December should be designated International day against corruption”.
But can you seriously expect to curb corruption resolutions of international organizations?
According to UN estimates, the amount of bribes around the world every year is about a trillion dollars. Another 2.5 trillion, the global economy loses from effects of corruption. Total is 5% of global GDP.
Human nature
From the point of view of Transparency International, world Bank and other international institutions, corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for personal gain. Lawyers prefer a more strict definition with their corresponding prison sentences.
The first known fighter against corruption, apparently, is Sumerian Uruinimgin (also known as Urukagina), king of Lagash, who lived and fought abuses of its officials in the XXIV century BC.
Corruption was pursued (unsuccessfully) the Indian kings and Egyptian pharaohs. Recommendations to refrain from bribery of judges is contained in the Bible and the Koran. The very word corruption — Latin, originally from Ancient Rome. That is the problem, the oldest and, as demonstrated by the UN Convention, are still unresolved.
Experts say that corruption is impossible in principle only in the absence of “discretionary power”, that is, the provision of public body or official under the law to act on their own. In fact, in this case, it is not about corruption, but about the bureaucracy and coupled with its existence bribes.
Besides, despite the fact that legally defined corruption almost anywhere is a criminal offense, the very notion includes the unethical, though criminally punishable actions such as nepotism.
“Acts of personal, personal greed will always be, it is peculiar to human nature, — believes Deputy Director of the Russian branch of Transparency International, Ilya Shumanov. — The question of reducing the costs of corruption, rather than its destruction as a species — it is impossible to do even in a fairly “clean” countries. If we talk about the destruction of corruption as a phenomenon that, in my opinion, it is impossible to do, at least while there remains the possibility of subjective decision-making or public officials”.
Carrot and stick
But the biological predisposition of man to the comprehensive improvement of the conditions of its existence should not be an obstacle in the fight against corruption, and in all countries are fighting against corruption as they can. Fundamentally there are two models of this fight, says Ilya Shumanov.
“The first model is the tough measures against corrupt officials, increasing the salaries of officials. That is, on the one hand, strengthen the responsibility, with another — the reward for good behavior, and a clear structure of hierarchical growth in government. Another model, also proved its effectiveness based on the search key to the correct behavior. With kindergartens, with schools people being intolerant of unethical, improper behavior. A person grows up in a society that does not tolerate any abuse, ready on them to publicly report and are not ready to accept the fact that people give bribes”.