To: Jim S who wrote (4777 ) 11/15/2006 10:59:28 AM From: one_less Read Replies (3) | Respond to "I think that means you don't know how to implement the policy? <GGG> "So long as it sounds good, that's good enough?" sounds good ya say "Policy that will stand up to the rigorous critique necessary, must be founded on sound principle. That is what I presented to you. Once you agree in principle, the struggle to define the specific application begins. Lacking sound principle you are guaranteed to lose in short order; with sound principle you still need to make it through a gauntlet of resistance while treading the tight rope of tenacious determination." Principle: In principle, a representative is under social contract to serve the interests of their constituencies even when it may conflict with material interests of their own. Those being represented have in essence lent their trust to the representative and this trust is the basis of the social contract. Consequently an anti-corruption law should focus on any breach of this trust relationship as a violation of the social contract.Definition: Corruption occurs when a representative allows an influence to adversely effect or conflict with them representing the interests of their constituency. Even though we are all confronted with all kinds of influences on a daily basis, the act of allowing, or not allowing, is the responsibility of the representative. Corruption is then, the responsibility of the representative who allows it to occur. Any breach of this trust relationship is a violation of the social contract.What smells? Any form of private or group advantage; especially visible are the various forms of influence peddling brought to bare as an impact on conduct of a representative carry an odorous quality. But is that enough? Probably not but it represents a potential breach. It is a breach, if it influences the representative to do anything other that represent the best interests of the representative's constituencies.Does it quack: The confused priorities, incompetence, and corruption of our system can be understood best by identifying the degree of politicalization of social issues that have bushwhacked rational discourse. When the veil is lifted, we see beyond the blind partisanship of political parties to the level of special interest lobby groups, influence peddling, and raw graft. It is probably this level where extremist loyalties have become truly dependant. Nobility factor: The machinations that enable corruption in government are insideously intrenched and will not be unraveled by simple requests to play nice. To address corruption of government representation, we would also be requiring a major overhaul of these special interest machinations. If you understand the challenges and risks associated with such an endeavor, you may begin to understand why any pressure to return to civil nobility in government representation is largely ignored. Corruption is not a complicated issue it is very simple. Doing something about it is another thing all together...
