Professor Juan Cole on corruption in America.
My own take is that the Anglo-Saxon genius is to legalize what would be considered corrupt in most places. William Jenning Bryan's characterization of British rule in India as a system of legalized pillage was an eye-opener in this regard. You will notice that little that Prof. Cole describes is considered illegal. Other countries dissolve into disorder because the corrupt are scofflaws, but here, corruption is self-reinforcing.
My own take is that the Anglo-Saxon genius is to legalize what would be considered corrupt in most places. William Jenning Bryan's characterization of British rule in India as a system of legalized pillage was an eye-opener in this regard. You will notice that little that Prof. Cole describes is considered illegal. Other countries dissolve into disorder because the corrupt are scofflaws, but here, corruption is self-reinforcing.
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