We explain what corruption is and the types of corruption in different areas. Also, what are the acts of corruption.
What is corruption?
Corruption refers, in the first instance, to something that has gone bad, that goes into a state of rot or perversionaltering the basic properties and becoming much more cloudy and negative.
The term comes from the combination of two Latin words: break and heart. That metaphorical sense means precisely the loss of the essence of an object or value.
See also: Impunity
Types of corruption
There are two main meanings of the term: one refers to the rotting of something, while the other assumes a more symbolic form, to refer to human relationships, especially power relationships.
First of all, An organism after its death begins a degradation process. It is a decomposition (with substances that swell, then dry and rot), through which bodies slowly transform into less complex and simpler forms.
In literature and linguistics, corruption is also called a situation that can occur when a word is used in a different way than its definition establishesa phenomenon of linguistic corruption is occurring. It also occurs if in any written work, based on a translation, correction or redaction, an alteration appears with respect to the original version.
In computing, it is known that data storage is not an infallible act, and if bits alter data presentation (which can happen due to a virus attack, a malfunction of the operating system, or simply due to poor data transmission), it is considered to be a corrupt file.
When there is talk of cases of corruption of minors It is because there is an adult who, abusing a defenseless situation, subjects a minor to activities such as prostitution, which can disturb them psychologically in a very serious way, thus corrupting their personality and psychological development.
In politics, the concept of corruption refers to the act of abuse of power to obtain a benefit, usually economicwhich does not respond to the functions that that power assigns. With this we see the relationship with the etymological spirit of the term: in politics, power must have a philosophical foundation of seeking the common good, and the violation of that by pursuing individual interests is one of the quintessential acts of betrayal, and therefore, corruption.
Acts of corruption
But specifically, what are we talking about when we mention acts of corruption? Here are some examples:
- The extortion under the protection of high positions in public or private office, to force other people to do things beyond their duties.
- The falsification of public contractswith false hiring and outside the ways that the law imposes.
- He influence peddlingusing benefits or friendships in hierarchical positions to favor or harm causes or projects.
- He illegal or malicious use of property that have been conferred for another use.
- The lack of ethicsespecially at high hierarchical levels. It is a crime for an official to see an illegal act and not report or warn it.
corruption appears in both public and private functions and it has more than negative consequences for the majority of organizations that do not know how to combat it: it favors the reproduction of bureaucracies, limits the credibility of governments, reduces resources for honest work and naturalizes these facts, which greatly harm those who, with their money or with their support legitimize that organization. Even justice, the police or sports are often plagued by these issues.
The debate on corruption usually appears in most of the world's democracies, and there is no shortage of political parties that consider themselves champions in the fight against corruption. The truth is that to solve these problems, a change is needed in the common sense of society and a culture of belonging to the decisions that are made in the upper strata of organizations, which that society legitimizes.
