Understanding the Causes of Corruption Among Politicians, Essays (university) of Political Systems

Download Understanding the Causes of Corruption Among Politicians and more Essays (university) Political Systems in PDF only on Docsity! Understanding the Causes of Corruption among Politicians Subject: Political Science Paper 1 Most politicians bend the laws of the land and steal money or solicit bribes because they need the funds to support networks of patronage. Others appear the hay so on reward their nearest and dearest or to require care of a lavish lifestyle when their political lives are over. But these mundane reasons fail to elucidate why some officeholders continue a rampage and binge on endless quantities of lucre. All rationales crumble within the face of a Mobutu Sese Seko or a Hussein or a Ferdinand Marcos who absconded with billions of folks dollars from the coffers of Zaire, Iraq, and thus the Philippines, respectively. These inconceivable dollops of money and valuables often remain stashed and untouched, moldering in bank accounts and safes in Western banks. They serve no purpose, either political or economic. But they're doing fulfil a psychological need. These hoards aren't the megalomaniacal equivalents of savings accounts. Rather they're of the character of compulsive collections. Erstwhile president of Sierra Leone, Momoh, amassed many video players and other commodity in vast rooms in his mansion. As electricity supply was intermittent at the simplest, his was a curious choice. He used to sit among these relics of his cupidity, fondling and counting them insatiably. While Momoh relished things with shiny buttons, people like Sese Seko, Hussein, and Marcos drooled over money. The ever-heightening mountains of dollars in their vaults soothed them, filled them confidently, regulated their sense of self-worth, and served as a