Seven Books About What Corruption Actually Looks Like

"Corruption is one of the most important-and misunderstood-concepts in contemporary American politics. Some examples are unambiguous: for instance, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez taking gold bars from foreign governments in exchange for policy favors. But corruption covers a wide range of behavior, far beyond kickbacks and bribery. I've spent my career studying how it shapes legal and political systems, and I've found that it's rarely a single act or brazen deal;"

"For most of history, corruption has been known as the central, ongoing challenge of self-government. In Aristotle's traditional formulation, it encompasses all selfish use of public power toward private ends. The American Founders worried about it; George Mason warned that without active vigilance against it, "our government will soon be at an end." And yet today, many of the practices that meet Aristotle's definition of corruption-interest groups paying for special consideration, the influence given to lobbyists and campaign donors-are both legal and widely accepted"

Corruption often extends far beyond straightforward bribery to habitual, systemic practices that spread through society like a creeping disease. Corruption has been a central and ongoing challenge of self-government since antiquity. Aristotle characterized it as the selfish use of public power for private ends. The American Founders feared corruption and warned that lack of vigilance could end government. Many contemporary practices that meet classical definitions of corruption—interest-group payments, lobbyist influence, and donor leverage—are legal and socially accepted. Public perception of corruption has risen in recent years, and recent administrations have displayed flagrant conflicts of interest. Historical examples show how transactional officeholding erodes legitimacy and accumulates damage over generations.

Read at The Atlantic