Rousseau on Corruption: Its Causes and Elimination
Proprietary Ownership as the Underlying Problem in Human Society
According to Rousseau, elements of human societies promote conflict in and of themselves. Specifically, Rousseau explains in his Discourse on Inequality (1754) that the very concept of proprietary ownership, especially of real property (i.e. land ownership), is unnatural and necessarily leads to respective comparisons, competition, and envy. He argues that those who come to own large amounts of property inevitably become part of a privileged class and that everybody else is relegated to being less privileged and comparatively disadvantaged. Furthermore, in addition to inspiring envy and class conflict within individual societies, the concept of proprietary ownership, according to Rousseau, also explains the antagonism that so frequently leads to conflict and warfare between different societies.
The Origin of Corruption in Human Societies
According to Rousseau, there are four fundamental human impulses promoted by proprietary ownership that result in conflict; of those, the fourth impulse leads directly to systemic social corruption of human institutions and to political corruption of governmental bodies in society. Specifically, the first fundamental human impulse associated with property ownership is a natural urge to compete with others that leads to the accumulation of property and material wealth far beyond what any individual actually needs. The second fundamental human impulse attributable to proprietary ownership is the urge to compare one's self to others instead of valuing property for its inherent or objective worth to the individual. The third fundamental human impulse associated with proprietary ownership...
In Greece particularly government corruption in the broad public sector is considered widespread; this is evident in local government and agencies including those that issue permits and licenses that authorize planning permissions (Economist, 2004). Doctors and other officials are even known to expect a 'tip' for jobs undertaken that they are supposed to do (Economist, 2004). The new Democracy government being constructed in Greece is taking action to "re-construct" the state
One group has offered that social welfare reform would be an effective deterrent to corruption. "Conditional cash transfer programs, an innovation in social welfare administration, have received considerable acclaim as a means of enhancing human capital and reducing leakage of public resources" (Grimes and Wangnerud, 2010), one extensive form of corruption in Mexico. It is innovative problem solving such as this that offers the greatest hope for bringing government
Corruption in government is considered by nearly every society as a destructive force. Most view corruption as having a negative impact on a nation's commerce and as a source of social injustice. The lack of accountability by those in authority is considered to be a contributing cause of corruption. The lack of accountability is present in governments where the ruling authorities are afforded considerable discretion such as authoritarian style governments
Corruption in Public Sector (Florida Department of Children and Families) Case Study The Florida DCF (Department of Children and Families) provides social services for families, children, refugees, adults, human trafficking victims, elderly people, disabled and homeless community. The DCF establishes the Office of Public Integrity to assist in investigating fraud within the organization and programs implemented by the Florida DCF. Objective of this paper is to investigate corruption in the public sector
While U.S., New Zealand and Denmark have many differences, they are basically capitalist, consumer economies. To combat the corruption inherent in such a system, we need to protect and nurture whistle blowing. Certainly, the more eyes there are on a situation, the more transparent it is, both in government and in business. The corruption that the recent recession revealed in the U.S. banking system is simply a part of the bigger
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