Roots of political corruption in ancient history

Abstract

Corruption has always been regarded as a special form of enrichment, based on prohibited and unethical grounds. Hence 'political corruption' could be defined as the immorality of the powerful; as the use of political power for the purpose of getting rich without any legal basis. Immorality of the powerful is the root of all the abuses that occur in the society. Those who are at the top of the pyramid of power have been particularly prominent in acquiring as large a fortune as possible. The phenomenon of 'political corruption' has been known in all societies, from the oldest to modern ones. In the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, there was an established custom of reciprocity between deliberate gifts and requested services. This phenomenon could be observed with Pericles, who is, among other things, attributed the idea of compensation for participation in state affairs. The phenomenon of 'political corruption' is referred to in Cicero's Rome, where bribery as a form of wealth acquisition without legal basis was formally condemned, but also widespread. Even today we can see that there are powerful persons who persist in the violation or circumvention of rules which guide any structured society: their wealth originates from the enormous acquisition of material things, but also the acquisition of various privileges which they are not entitled to, such as titles, promotions, etc. They are the ones who have brought about the demise of the Latin sentence that the basis of any developed society is: 'To live an honest life, hurt no one, and grant everyone their due.'.

Keywords

• Political power
• immorality of the powerful
• social crisis
• moral crisis
• abuse of power
• reciprocity of gifts
• bribery