Is political corruption inevitable - Stephanie Honchell Smith
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Date: 2024-04-11
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Comments and reviews: 20
ted_ed
This isn’t government corruption but
When I first got out of the Army I had a job spinning asparagus seeds to separate out the field bind weed seeds. It was a new variety that was going to be shared among the growers based upon the acreage they already had planted. One d a grower showed up which I thought was strange because I was in the middle of nowhere and I wouldn’t expect anyone to even know I was there or what I was doing. He asked for a tour and eventually he offered me cash for seeds. As much as I could give him. I said no. So he offered me the same amount of money for the waste seeds so he could pick out the asparagus. I told him if he went away immediately I wouldn’t tell my researcher boss who would definitely report it to his coop. He left.
That was half a century ago and I enjoy being able to tell the story. I’m glad I made the right decision.
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This isn’t government corruption but
When I first got out of the Army I had a job spinning asparagus seeds to separate out the field bind weed seeds. It was a new variety that was going to be shared among the growers based upon the acreage they already had planted. One d a grower showed up which I thought was strange because I was in the middle of nowhere and I wouldn’t expect anyone to even know I was there or what I was doing. He asked for a tour and eventually he offered me cash for seeds. As much as I could give him. I said no. So he offered me the same amount of money for the waste seeds so he could pick out the asparagus. I told him if he went away immediately I wouldn’t tell my researcher boss who would definitely report it to his coop. He left.
That was half a century ago and I enjoy being able to tell the story. I’m glad I made the right decision.
reply
HappyCamper870
How did things get so bad in the United States so fast I've been watching and wondering. Republicans used to be the party of accountability. Now with Trump I have no idea what they stand for anymore. It certainly is an accountability because Trump and his cronies in the Republican party have less than perhaps any other president in history.
Democrats are also having a huge issue with accountability. They have let their desire to always be fair and never hurt anyone's feelings blind them to any accountability issues we may be having with modern women and minorities.
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How did things get so bad in the United States so fast I've been watching and wondering. Republicans used to be the party of accountability. Now with Trump I have no idea what they stand for anymore. It certainly is an accountability because Trump and his cronies in the Republican party have less than perhaps any other president in history.
Democrats are also having a huge issue with accountability. They have let their desire to always be fair and never hurt anyone's feelings blind them to any accountability issues we may be having with modern women and minorities.
reply
dmmj123
There are two types of politicians. Politicians who are merely representatives of the financiers (which is the case in richer countries such as the USA, Europe, etc, so the blame for keeping corrupt representatives lies with those who finance them, the private donors. And the second type of politician, who is the financier of his career (this is the case in poor countries, such as Africa, in which case the politician has so much power that it is difficult to confront him.
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There are two types of politicians. Politicians who are merely representatives of the financiers (which is the case in richer countries such as the USA, Europe, etc, so the blame for keeping corrupt representatives lies with those who finance them, the private donors. And the second type of politician, who is the financier of his career (this is the case in poor countries, such as Africa, in which case the politician has so much power that it is difficult to confront him.
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papalapa1069
At its core, most public funds suffer from an acute case of the tragedy of the commons. Constitutional mechanisms like Comptrollers and audits can only do so much. The easiest fix would be to reduce the bloated bureaucracy and align the incentives of bureaucrats closely to that of the people. It’s not everyday we hear about corruption within a corporation, perhaps the government can learn a thing or two.
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At its core, most public funds suffer from an acute case of the tragedy of the commons. Constitutional mechanisms like Comptrollers and audits can only do so much. The easiest fix would be to reduce the bloated bureaucracy and align the incentives of bureaucrats closely to that of the people. It’s not everyday we hear about corruption within a corporation, perhaps the government can learn a thing or two.
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XVENDETTA100
Then yes, it is inevitable, since the very basic of our existential, no species existencial bring feeling, emotion, affection, that means we always had a chance to do nepotism, collution and corruption,
perfect system huh Nobody is perfect yet system created, and run by human, it always had a spare room to have a human error
Yet without affection driven act, we are error to be human, existentially
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Then yes, it is inevitable, since the very basic of our existential, no species existencial bring feeling, emotion, affection, that means we always had a chance to do nepotism, collution and corruption,
perfect system huh Nobody is perfect yet system created, and run by human, it always had a spare room to have a human error
Yet without affection driven act, we are error to be human, existentially
reply
somerandomguy___
As long as politics can be used to gain money and power, greedy and psychopathic people will ruin entire civilizations for their own selfish gain.
Also, there are social studies that show that there is a direct correlation between having more and wanting to give less generally being less sympathetic towards others.
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As long as politics can be used to gain money and power, greedy and psychopathic people will ruin entire civilizations for their own selfish gain.
Also, there are social studies that show that there is a direct correlation between having more and wanting to give less generally being less sympathetic towards others.
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ted_ed
Corruption is interesting because the definition of it is incredibly ambiguous. One country’s corruption is just normal business in another. And since no one does a job out of altruism, every penny a politician or public official earns or spends can be seen as corruption by someone. Reasonably or not.
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Corruption is interesting because the definition of it is incredibly ambiguous. One country’s corruption is just normal business in another. And since no one does a job out of altruism, every penny a politician or public official earns or spends can be seen as corruption by someone. Reasonably or not.
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brianc5617
Corruption is born from power imbalance. As long as money can influence politics then the rich will always use their wealth to corrupt our democracies. As long as billionaires are allowed to exist they will always find a way to corrupt our democracies until we end up with plutocracies and oligarchs.
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Corruption is born from power imbalance. As long as money can influence politics then the rich will always use their wealth to corrupt our democracies. As long as billionaires are allowed to exist they will always find a way to corrupt our democracies until we end up with plutocracies and oligarchs.
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johnjohn-6256
the fact that zuma was just recently allowed to run for office again is an indictment on the pervasiveness of corruption in south africa. it is a reminder that fighting corruption is an endless battle that the citizens of every country must fight.
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the fact that zuma was just recently allowed to run for office again is an indictment on the pervasiveness of corruption in south africa. it is a reminder that fighting corruption is an endless battle that the citizens of every country must fight.
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TEDEd
So how do we safeguard our democracies against corruption We start with a healthy and just society. Visit ed. ted. com/democracy-lab to learn what it takes for democracies to thrive, and find out why your engagement is the key.
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So how do we safeguard our democracies against corruption We start with a healthy and just society. Visit ed. ted. com/democracy-lab to learn what it takes for democracies to thrive, and find out why your engagement is the key.
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Asuzara
As long as billionaires are allowed to exist, corruption is indeed inevitable. They will always find someone they can pay to increase their influence and profits. We need a hard cap on personal wealth globally.
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As long as billionaires are allowed to exist, corruption is indeed inevitable. They will always find someone they can pay to increase their influence and profits. We need a hard cap on personal wealth globally.
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gulubidulu
One of the option to reduce corruption is also to reduce income inequality. Someone earning the minimum wage cannot corrupt a politician with a few hundred bucks: only the weathy can afford corruption.
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One of the option to reduce corruption is also to reduce income inequality. Someone earning the minimum wage cannot corrupt a politician with a few hundred bucks: only the weathy can afford corruption.
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horrorkesh2
I wish America would actually tackle its corruption every politician is owned by The Rich every law is written with loopholes so the rich can get away with hoarding money and gouging everyone
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I wish America would actually tackle its corruption every politician is owned by The Rich every law is written with loopholes so the rich can get away with hoarding money and gouging everyone
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xvang9346
I keep hearing about Baltimore as the day approaches when I move over there in a few months, great video. I was wondering if you could go over the Secret Laos War involving the Hmong people.
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I keep hearing about Baltimore as the day approaches when I move over there in a few months, great video. I was wondering if you could go over the Secret Laos War involving the Hmong people.
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Echo81Rumple83
The fact that this video uses classic boardgames and such shows how corruption works is perfectly spot-on on how it works: cold, calculated, and the end goal to dominate and win.
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The fact that this video uses classic boardgames and such shows how corruption works is perfectly spot-on on how it works: cold, calculated, and the end goal to dominate and win.
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joegrizzle9482
The United States of America is eat up in corruption and it cannot be fixed. Because of all the corporate greed and now ultramaga Nazis are trying to take over the government.
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The United States of America is eat up in corruption and it cannot be fixed. Because of all the corporate greed and now ultramaga Nazis are trying to take over the government.
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joegrizzle9482
Some people walk around in this country completely blind to all this corruption, it doesn't exist to them. It's like asking a fish, hows the water Fish replies, what's water
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Some people walk around in this country completely blind to all this corruption, it doesn't exist to them. It's like asking a fish, hows the water Fish replies, what's water
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dennistucker1153
When corruption exists all through the government even at the top, nothing can fix this except revolution. The U. S. Government is so fing corrupted.
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When corruption exists all through the government even at the top, nothing can fix this except revolution. The U. S. Government is so fing corrupted.
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danielabbey7726
Is it possible that a low level of corruption is economically advantageous in a highly bureaucratic society (e. g, NYC or CA)
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Is it possible that a low level of corruption is economically advantageous in a highly bureaucratic society (e. g, NYC or CA)
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Sealist
The animations and transitions are so well made in this video. jetpropulsion is definitely one of my favourite Ted-Ed animator teams
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The animations and transitions are so well made in this video. jetpropulsion is definitely one of my favourite Ted-Ed animator teams
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