Corruption

I was going to mention this in the last post but it's too important and deserves a post all of its own.

Corruption is the worst crime a human being can commit.

All other crime is policed, with varying degrees of effectiveness, by society.  Corruption actively undermines the nature of that society and its fundamental ability to create and uphold laws.

The first law of any system of laws should be that efforts to corrupt the system itself are absolutely anathema.  No other crime should be as severely punished nor should have as much of a society's resources devoted to it's prevention.

When you think about it corruption enables every other crime it is possible to commit.  It is the equivalent to committing all of the other potential crimes all at once.

There are three major organisations that create the rule of law.  The legislature, the police and the judiciary.  All three are susceptible to corruption in different ways and how we prevent this should be a constitutional rather than a legal matter.

The legislature is a representative body elected by the people to enact laws to govern society in a way that brings the greatest benefit to all.  In particular it is not elected to provide any benefit to individuals who possess great wealth, power or influence excepting that said benefit is of the greatest benefit to all.

Politics needs to be constitutionally insulated from money.

It cannot cost money to get involved in politics.  Money cannot be allowed to give any particular candidate an advantage over an other in an election.

The primary area where money lends an advantage in political campaigning is the media.  Perhaps it might be wise to simply enact a blanket ban on all political campaigning in these venues.  It has become clear that the partisan political opinions of media corporations have been allowed to leak into the editorial opinions in a manner that is intended to misinform the electorate.  Advertising in general has also proved itself to be a great danger to society if not actively and properly policed.

Direct lobbying is another area where undue influence is exerted on the legislature by vested interests with too much money.  Tobacco is the classic example of an industry that was clearly doing harm that spent money to corrupt the political process to protect their revenue stream.

Tobacco is not, however, an isolated example.  Dozens of cases exist stretching over several centuries of industries that have had their day or that produce products that are not in the public interest spending vast sums of money to corrupt the process of government.  It has almost become a trope, that, as a particular industry or business method enters its inevitable decline it clings on to life, like some sort of unholy revenant, by using money to corrupt the political process.

The Constitution must provide for the outlawing of such practices and for brutal punishments for transgressors.

Furthermore, it needs to provide incentives that help prevent corruption.  We spend nearly three times as much on education as we do on ensuring that our laws are adequately enforced.  This is a ludicrous reversal of the proper order of things.  Those that uphold the law should be amongst the best paid and most revered members of our society.  They should want for nothing.

If politicians, policeman, prosecutors, judges and prison guards are amongst the wealthiest elite members of society there will be less opportunity to subvert the rule of law with money.