this little matter of bureaucratic and governmental corruption rears its ugly head, every livelong day. without relief, we receive news of one more eye popping scandal after another. what is happening? well, there is copious literature examining the phenomenon of governmental corruption, and many opinions have been expounded on the matter, by prominent scholars. in a working paper entitled"Bureaucratic Corruption In The Third World", the accomplished Indian academic, J G Jabbra, observes, unequivocally, that bureaucratic and governmental corruption arises out of the existence of defective cultural and social norms and behaviors in a society. what that suggests is that bureaucrats do not suddenly become corrupt when they ascend to stations of power, wherein they can breach the public trust, for their own aggrandizement. they were already socialized in a culture of corrupt practices, long before they got there, because dishonorable behavioral traits are normative, and commonplace, in their societies.that , in part, explains the puzzle as to why it is that there is no robust , and meaningful, outcry against governmental malfeasance,. and a demand for higher ethical standards, and practices. maybe it is because the victims of corruption are no different from the politicians. they just do not have the station in life with which to become the actors ,themselves.Alexis De Tocqueville, among others, reminds that a people get the government they deserve. others have observed that a government is the mirror image of the population which elects it. finally, HL Mencken makes a note of the reality that a government knows what its people need, and gives it to them, long, and hard.
