Are you talking the political world, or generally ? In some professions, like construction, there sometimes are bribery systems, but I don't see it across the board. It is entirely possible that there is a lot of it in Vegas, say, but how much is there in Kansas ? And so forth. However, if you wish to enlighten us otherwise I am all ears. Billy ================================================ In a message dated 3/18/2010 6:27:03 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
You're going to get me started again. Ever been to Louisiana? There are other places that I could mention. Dallas city council for one. We just had a councilman convicted. David "A pleasant natural environment is a good - a luxury good, philosophical good, a moral goody-good, a good time for all. Whatever, we want it. If we want something, we should pay for it, with our labor or our cash. We shouldn't beg it, steal it, sit around wishing for it, or euchre the government into taking it by force."--P. J. O’Rourke On 3/18/2010 4:14 PM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: Ernie: The issue of bribery is really worth thinking about. How is it that the United States is, at least mostly, a bribe free society ? Yet many other countries around the world seem to function through bribe systems at all levels. Granted, American politics might easily be thought of as a system of disguised ( or even overt ) bribery, but by and large bribery is not part of how we do things. Indeed, there is abhorrence of bribery generally. Why hasn't this happened elsewhere --and universally ? I will guess that institutionalized bribery is not much of a factor in western Europe ( vs the eastern nations, where it may still be a significant factor ) and you can probably say the same for Australia, Canada, NZ and places like Israel, Japan, Costa Rica, and Singapore, but outside this circle you find it all over the map. What supporting values are necessary for a non-bribe system to exist ? What kinds of traditions are helpful ? What kinds of leadership ? I certainly don't have an answer, but maybe the question has value. I'd also like to know if my perception of US culture / society is on the money. Are there hidden ( unacknowledged but real ) forms of bribery that we all take for granted and never even think twice about ? Probably there are some, but are there more than a few ? If so, how important are they ? Anyway, a valuable topic to pursue. Billy =================================================== In a message dated 3/18/2010 11:50:14 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) writes: Wonderful stuff! Lots of fascinating the data, though this is the real shocker: On Mar 18, 2010, at 12:40 PM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: > Forty percent say they have been pressured to pay a bribe. Only 40%!?!? -- Ernie P. _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) _http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com_ (http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com) Archives at _http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/_ (http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/) _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) _http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com_ (http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com) Archives at _http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/_ (http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/) _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected] http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
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