Corruption and a clean society

The corruption incidents and the search for a clean society that have frequently come to the agenda recently have led to the discussion and examination of Turkey's administrative structure as a whole in the public eye, in politics, in the media, and in academic circles.

Turkey is now aware that it is no longer an agricultural society with a low level of education, but is in the phase of becoming an industrial society with an increasingly rising level of education. Accordingly, it expects the public sector, in particular, to renew itself within the framework of rational principles by keeping pace with contemporary developments. Today, citizens want the taxes they pay to be used effectively and their service demands to be met, yet developments in the public sector are not following a course consistent with these demands.

To this end, public awareness must be raised and the public sector must be restructured in the face of the rent-seeking, political corruption, and the clean society process that are on the agenda.

The important point in the fight against political corruption and rent-seeking activities should not be to cleanse society of dirt, but to uncover the mechanisms that pollute and corrupt society and break their power. This struggle is as important as the society's sensitivity to the issue and its desire to fight, as it is in meeting the working power, authority, and demands of the bodies that will investigate and uncover corruption and judge them.

Today, similar problems are experienced in many developed and developing countries. But it should not be forgotten that the fight against such events must be shaped in accordance with the structures of individual countries.

Political corruption begins in the functioning of the political decision-making process itself. For this reason, monitoring the relationships between the actors involved in the political process—politicians, bureaucrats, pressure groups, political parties, and the government—has become an essential civic duty.

To better understand political corruption and rent-seeking, it is necessary to clarify some concepts that are inextricably linked to the subject.

Corruption can be defined as the arbitrary and illegal use of public authority. I can present some definitions made for the concept of corruption by political and public administration scientists as follows:

• A public official grants privileges in public transactions in exchange for money or goods.

• Authority is abused on behalf of the public for personal gain, whether monetary or otherwise. It is the abuse of authority in the state for personal or political gain.

In our view, corruption is the use of public power sometimes for the general interests of certain groups and classes, and sometimes for special prestige or political preferences. In this dirty process, while those who grow constantly with unfair incentives and support emerge on one side, on the other side, all values in the name of social peace, social balance, and a just state are trampled within the landscape created by those who are constantly losing, and moreover, these are often attempted to be covered up with rhetoric about the homeland and the nation.

And now, those who distribute the spoils at the head of rent-seeking will try every way to declare anyone who threatens them an "Enemy," as they also influence the political process.

Unfortunately, the disgusting stench of political corruption and rent-seeking in our country often spreads to society as a result of the changing of hands of rents and internal settling of scores. And it is seen that those at the top of the political structure, in order to maintain their political power, offer a significant share of the total taxes that citizens pay to the state as a treat to the centers they believe will provide them with significant political support; sometimes the way for this is paved with very special mysterious laws or decrees, sometimes with unfair tenders, and sometimes just with important appointments aimed at organizing these affairs. The classical concept of corruption formed the basis of the political thoughts of Machiavelli, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. According to this view, corruption is a process that harms the honesty of citizens. Because many people are weak unless influenced by a leader and lack civic responsibilities. In such an environment, it presents a threatening situation. Sometimes it happens that yesterday's corrupt individuals suddenly become today's most patriotic people.

Widespread corruption leads to the following dangers in society:

• Inefficiency

• Distrust in the state

• Waste of public resources

• Discouragement of foreign capital and investment

• Political instability

• Moral decay

Corruption acts as a bridge between those who hold wealth and those who hold authority, effectively marrying them off.

According to some, corruption appears as widespread activities in the most intense phase of modernization. Corruption, which emerges in a rapid process where one class becomes brutally dominant over another, becomes functional for some and accelerates change. This is the logic of the economic policy that dominated for a long period after 1980.

In fact, as in Britain, Prussia, and elsewhere, the wealthy who bought power and authority in Ancient Rome and China became an unchangeable part of the political system.

Of course, depending on different conditions in different places, political corruption and rent-seeking have manifested themselves under different forms, although their essence has not changed. As long as the administrative structure remains distant from the mechanisms that will audit it and, most importantly, from the holistic sensitivity of society, it is pregnant with corruption.

Of course, corruption will also meet with violence and betrayal, and in the end, they will become blood brothers.

Prof. Dr. Duran BÜLBÜL