Political Corruption Under Transnational Capitalism: A Marxist View

This essay discusses the rise of political corruption as one of the most central topics taken up by international organizations and actors, and its continuous domestic relevance for national states. Building upon previous arguments, the author argues that as a concept, political corruption is fundamental to the conceptual edifice of bourgeois societies. The concept of corruption and its rise, and the changes that had occurred to its status in capitalist societies is used to discuss recent developments within the capitalist state and for understanding this spontaneous ideology emerging as a reaction to global inequalities. The author also discusses the notion of anti-corruption, and argues that anti-corruption’s efforts to create more transparent and ethical governments, and spur greater economic development and political freedom is a mere fantasy that fails to recognize a basic tenet of capitalist states: clashes of private interests as the lifeblood of bourgeois politics. Anti-corruption is dealt with as a concept akin to the ‘white man’s burdern’ and where everything can be presented as a product of corruption.