Oh a lot of northern european countries genuinely do not believe there’s corruption in their political systems. And it’s because, for the most part, they can’t actually see its effects. Yeah, Deutsche Bank being bailed out after absconding with I dunno how many times the yearly GDP of Germany in cash has huge implications for the country as a whole. But the local mayor pocketing the money that was meant for child care and hospital equipment is something that is much closer to everyday life.
In a lot of cases the corruption is seen through the lens of , too. There is no malice, only ineptitude and inefficiency, not like in the global south, where people will steal because their cranial curvature is parabolic.
In my northern European country the very understanding of the word “corruption” has unspoken racist undertones baked into it. Corruption is something they have south of the Alps and east of the Oder, certainly not something we have here. Consequently the same behaviour that would be understood as corruption when happening in the global south will be perceived as “an unpleasant affair”, “a controversy” or similar euphemisms.
The friendly relationship between politicians and “journalists” also helps make sure that the big scary C word is never used domestically. Doing so would be impolite and rock the boat too much and give you a reputation as not being serious.
And if you play your cards right, when you retire from politics you can expect a highly paid non-job on some board of directors at a company that was helped by your politics.
you should see some of the faces people make when i refer to those parasitic consultants that plague the public sector as corruption. A lot of times people think I’m being hyperbolic, but I genuinely think those types of partnership is as damaging as a public official just pocketing the money that was supposed to go to a project.
Coincidentally, those consultants are also the main reason why all public projects cost infinitely more up here than anywhere else.
For what it’s worth you gotta respect the grift. As far as forms of social control go, at least the gravy train of ‘consultants’ is a bit more stable than ‘so, uh, the mayor hired his daughter and she spent this year’s school lunch money hiring a big rock band for a party panem et circenses style so you can distract yourself about that one time the mayor fired everyone in the local hospital and kicked your dying grandma to the streets’.
Seems like such a no-brainer, especially when the officials in charge are always revealed to be friends with the consulting firms. But I would say most public procurement is atleast somewhat corrupt. People should read about the New Karolinska Hospital in Sweden. It’s the most expensive hospital ever built, and I think you can guess why.
Some of it is also because you don’t find corruption if you’re not looking for it.
Real countries have rules about money in politics. My home country is Denmark is less developed in that sense. There is a law stating that parties have to disclose the names of anybody who donates more than the equivalent of USD 2900. Anything below that can be donated completely anonymously and the law only manages the disclosure of the name, not the amount given.
But what if you want to donate more than that and still keep it quiet? Well, then you can either get a bunch of your friends to donate just below the threshold or you can form what is known as a “money club”, an organisation that exists for the sole purpose of obscuring the flow of money in politics. So instead of donating a ton of money to your favourite party, you give it to “The Liberal Business Club” who then passes it on to the corrupt recipient’s. All the public will ever know is that said club made a donation. It’s completely legal and doesn’t count as corruption.
Or you can do what the right wing party did last time here in Arg where they stole identities of random people to launder money donating to their party in their name.
Yet for some reason the media conglomerate didn’t make much fuzz about it :thonk
Oh a lot of northern european countries genuinely do not believe there’s corruption in their political systems. And it’s because, for the most part, they can’t actually see its effects. Yeah, Deutsche Bank being bailed out after absconding with I dunno how many times the yearly GDP of Germany in cash has huge implications for the country as a whole. But the local mayor pocketing the money that was meant for child care and hospital equipment is something that is much closer to everyday life.
In a lot of cases the corruption is seen through the lens of
, too. There is no malice, only ineptitude and inefficiency, not like in the global south, where people will steal because their cranial curvature is parabolic.
I am once again plugging
because like every other episode is about this exact phenomenon
Citations Needed: Episode 73: Western Media’s Narrow, Colonial Definition of “Corruption”
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/citationsneeded/CN73_20190417_corruption_hickel.mp3
In my northern European country the very understanding of the word “corruption” has unspoken racist undertones baked into it. Corruption is something they have south of the Alps and east of the Oder, certainly not something we have here. Consequently the same behaviour that would be understood as corruption when happening in the global south will be perceived as “an unpleasant affair”, “a controversy” or similar euphemisms.
The friendly relationship between politicians and “journalists” also helps make sure that the big scary C word is never used domestically. Doing so would be impolite and rock the boat too much and give you a reputation as not being serious.
Also, it’s always an exception.
A lot of the usual corruption also has legal avenues now, you don’t need bribes when there’s campaign donations
And if you play your cards right, when you retire from politics you can expect a highly paid non-job on some board of directors at a company that was helped by your politics.
you should see some of the faces people make when i refer to those parasitic consultants that plague the public sector as corruption. A lot of times people think I’m being hyperbolic, but I genuinely think those types of partnership is as damaging as a public official just pocketing the money that was supposed to go to a project. Coincidentally, those consultants are also the main reason why all public projects cost infinitely more up here than anywhere else.
For what it’s worth you gotta respect the grift. As far as forms of social control go, at least the gravy train of ‘consultants’ is a bit more stable than ‘so, uh, the mayor hired his daughter and she spent this year’s school lunch money hiring a big rock band for a party panem et circenses style so you can distract yourself about that one time the mayor fired everyone in the local hospital and kicked your dying grandma to the streets’.
If my dying grandma is being kicked to the street either way I will take one concert please.
Seems like such a no-brainer, especially when the officials in charge are always revealed to be friends with the consulting firms. But I would say most public procurement is atleast somewhat corrupt. People should read about the New Karolinska Hospital in Sweden. It’s the most expensive hospital ever built, and I think you can guess why.
Some of it is also because you don’t find corruption if you’re not looking for it.
Real countries have rules about money in politics. My home country is Denmark is less developed in that sense. There is a law stating that parties have to disclose the names of anybody who donates more than the equivalent of USD 2900. Anything below that can be donated completely anonymously and the law only manages the disclosure of the name, not the amount given.
But what if you want to donate more than that and still keep it quiet? Well, then you can either get a bunch of your friends to donate just below the threshold or you can form what is known as a “money club”, an organisation that exists for the sole purpose of obscuring the flow of money in politics. So instead of donating a ton of money to your favourite party, you give it to “The Liberal Business Club” who then passes it on to the corrupt recipient’s. All the public will ever know is that said club made a donation. It’s completely legal and doesn’t count as corruption.
Or you can do what the right wing party did last time here in Arg where they stole identities of random people to launder money donating to their party in their name.
Yet for some reason the media conglomerate didn’t make much fuzz about it :thonk