Towards Understanding Corruption in Business and Politics A Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

This article analyses policy and the theoretical and practical perspectives/sides of corruption as a growing tendency in politics and business since traditional times. From a social science perspective, it advances a thesis that is premised on the observation that much of traditional manners of behaviour come close to what is termed “corruption”. The challenge, however, is on setting limits as to how much corruption can be tolerated. In our analysis, these limits are arbitrary but necessary in such areas as how much help one can give family members within one’s own business organization, what is the dividing line between a “gift” and a “bribe”, how much “moonlighting” can an institution or institutions tolerate from their members, etc.