Corruption as violation of distributed ethical obligations

Abstract

The ethics of corruption cannot be analysed without simultaneously addressing the legitimacy of public office or entrusted power. This paper introduces a concept of core unethical corruption, defined as violations of distributed ethical obligations for private gain. In other words, it is suggested that what is ethically wrong with corruption is that it entails the violation of certain obligations attributed to agents. By explicitly relating corruption to obligations, this approach helps make ethical sense of the concepts of public office or entrusted power, attending to the question of their legitimacy. Since distributed obligations are implied by a wide range of ethical theories, the concept of core unethical corruption also reflects a (partial) overlapping consensus on the ethics of corruption.

Evidence‐informed person‐centered healthcare part I: Do ‘cognitive biases plus’ at organizational levels influence quality of evidence?

“…define corruption as impairment of integrity or moral principle, and institutional corruption as an organization's deviation from a baseline of integrity [110]. This is in keeping with Kolstad's concept that corruption in general is the violation of ethical obligations for private gain, regardless of how this is rationalized [166]. Chattopadhyay has provided extensive evidence on the corruption entrenched at all levels of health care provision and delivery in India; he describes corruption in health care as a crime against humanity [167], a view that developed economies would do well to endorse.…”

Impartiality and the Definition of Corruption

“…Since such fundamental ethical philosophy is sometimes unwelcome in practically minded social sciences, a great deal of reflection on corruption leaves it aside. But it is at the heart of the matter (a similar point, without the appeal to Aristotle, is made by Kolstad, 2012: 243). If the content of particular policies is left out of one’s definition of corruption, many systematic abuses of political office for personal gain will slip through the cracks.…”

Political corruption

“…To elaborate, we propose conceiving of political corruption as occurring when a public official, entrusted with the public power either to make or to implement public rules, makes a distorted use of that power and bend those rules for the pursuit of a surreptitious agenda . This characterisation of political corruption is general enough to encompass the ideas that political corruption involves the abuse of public power (Amundsen, ) and the abuse of entrusted power (Kolstad, ). This hybridisation highlights both the public character of the notion and the breach of trust typically involved in political acts of corruption.…”