#109 Corruption and the Christian Worldview

Corruption is caused by the fallen nature.  The best way to limit it, on this side of heaven, is to give more free-market power to privately owned entities, not to fallen government bureaucrats.

Humpty Dumpty

When Willie Sutton said, “Because that’s where the money is,” he was answering two questions.  The first: Why he robs banks.  The second: Why the four richest counties in America are suburbs of Washington, DC.

The Wall Street Journal published an article this week titled, “Biden Administration Unveils Plans to Fight Corruption.”  Okay, let’s get past the easy and snarky proposed headline, “The Head of the Biden Family Syndicate Fights Corruption.”  But, as you will see in a few minutes, YOU could substitute YOUR name in that headline. 

The first line of the article reads, “The Biden administration unveiled steps to combat corruption globally.”  Globally?!  That’s quite a large windmill to tilt against, wouldn’t you think?  I’ve often mused about corruption and made the observation, “I’m not surprised that other countries have high levels of corruption.  I AM surprised that the US has such low levels.”  Why?  I think the Judeo-Christian value system has something to do with it.  But I digress.  Back to the WSJ article:  “The Biden administration wants to improve cooperation between federal agencies, including the State Department, Treasury, Commerce and the US Agency for International Development.”  Ok, that’ ‘s interesting: People don’t naturally cooperate, they naturally compete.  The Biden administration is trying to fight corruption GLOBALLY, but the 38-page plan is directed at internal bureaucracies.  

In his book The False Promise of Big Government, Patrick Garry, writes, “Instead of helping the average person at the expense of the wealthy, bigger government helps the politically powerful at the expense of the average person.  As government has grown so powerful in such far-reaching ways, it has become more aligned with the centers of power in society.”

Back to this week’s Wall Street Journal article.  Maybe the most interesting phrase is highlighted by the authors, “Changing embedded cultures of corruption requires significant political will….”  Ok, let’s think about that: Politicians are writing laws to prevent political corruption.  Good luck with that.  Another section of the article states that the Biden administration is trying to keep gate-keepers, like lawyers, from taking corrupt actions.  Lawyers are writing laws to control lawyers.  Brings to mind the old rhyme, “All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty back together again.”  You know why?  Because all the king’s men wrote the original law, and all the king’s men are those breaking the current law, and all the king’s men are now writing new laws.  You see, something OUTSIDE the system is required to fix something that’s broken INSIDE the system. 

Back to The False Promise of Big Government, where Patrick Garry observes, “Human freedom will further erode when government must pass even more laws and create even more bureaucratic programs to try to replace all the social guidance and support once provided by families, communities, schools, and religions.”

I’m not saying the Biden Administration should not be making attempts to lower corruption.