Corruption: A Different Outlook

Corruption can come in many forms viz. political, religious, philosophical, etc. But whatever facia it might assume, we know that it plagues not only individuals, institutions, organizations and countries, but society as a whole. This subject has been going round my mind since a long time, but I had decided against penning it down, due to one reason only... People say that corruption is wrong and should be erased, but as I pointed out in one of my previous articles, right and wrong are nonobjective terms, with varying degrees of acceptance for different people. So the only way corruption can be eliminated or at least reduced, is if systems themselves are made infallible.

Just like in the Indian constitution, where the Government and Judiciary have been kept as two independent entities, there should be similar counter measures in every body at every level, if we want to get a handle on the disease of corruption. For example, almost all companies have a system wherein performance of subordinates are rated by their bosses, but the reverse is poppycock at best! What if all team members are allowed to evaluate their leaders too in all fairness without career peril? Wouldn't the process become less one-sided and more productive for the entire firm as a whole?

Let's consider another commonly encountered issue and something around which corruption revolves... Bribes! Whether it is contractors simply trying to get past plant security without much fuss, offering some chai-pani (cash for titbits), or the average joe trying to obtain some urgently required document on priority in an under handed way, or trying to bribe your way out of a speeding ticket, I'm pretty sure almost all of us have been witness or even subject to this type of blatant blackmail. So, what if parties with conflicting interests are made to invigilate one another?

Last but not the least, automation has already become a major part of today's day to day activity in almost all walks of life. So, why can't machines replace humans wherever possible? Such steps even though initially cost intensive, must be made compulsory wherever practically feasible. Imagine the benefits... Documents will only be processed in chronological order... Parking fines will be auto-generated based on captured data... The list is endless...

Basically, what I'm trying to emphasize is a shift in focus from change of mentalities of parties involved in corruption to a change in the systems that govern these parties, because at the end of the day you will be left to someone else's mercy in case of the former, but no single party will be in control in case of the latter. Most articles you'll come across on this subject, will probably conclude by saying that it is everyone's responsibility to lend a hand in abolishing the epidemic of corruption, but I say that none of us should have to be dependent on whether someone is acting upon the aforesaid thought or not... And that, my friends, is precisely why it is of the utmost importance to make systems incorruptible rather than the masses.