grey corruption

The dictionary at the moment has just the one entry for corruption. This, I have discovered, is not nearly good enough.  There is a corruption glossary that needs to be considered for inclusion.

We can start with grey corruption because that has come to the fore in the Victorian inquiry into the behaviour of the ALP in that state.  They found a political culture, ‘condoned or even actively encouraged by senior figures, of ends justifying means and bending and breaking rules’.  Grey corruption is not blatantly illegal but it is the manipulation of the processes of an organisation to favour particular people or produce certain outcomes. It is also called soft corruption which contrasts with hard corruption which is clearly illegal.

The one that appeals to me is noble cause corruption, also called Dirty Harry corruption (from the movie), in which people can adopt illegal means to achieve an end that they consider to be just.

Petty corruption covers the odd bribe to officials to get something through.  It can also include a grease payment (or facilitation payment) although a distinction can be made between these two.  The bribe is necessary to get what you want. The grease payment is small amount usually paid to a lesser official to speed up the process.  You would have got what you wanted anyway but the grease payment (or speed payment) just gets you there faster.  In some countries these are legal.

So much to learn about corruption!