“Tham nhũng vặt”: Hậu quả không hề “vặt”

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Dear Dan,

We often hear in the news (tin tức) about politicians (chính trị gia) being indicted (tuyên án) on bribery charges (tội hối lộ). Does this mean that politicians are dishonest (không trung thực) people compared with other professions?

—Michael

Yes and no. I don’t think that politics attracts dishonest people, but I do think that systems that become corrupt (đồi bại, thối nát), political or otherwise, can turn their members dishonest. In a number of experiments, my research team at Duke found that decisions to be honest are largely influenced by what we see other people around us doing. Take highway driving: If drivers around you are speeding, you are more likely to join in. In the same way, a person who enters a corrupt political system may quickly adjust to the norms of that workplace.

This means that the more corruption (ăn hối lộ, tham nhũng) there is, the more likely it is to spread. Even worse in the political sphere is how visible politicians are, which means that as the rest of us see them act in corrupt ways, it may affect our sense of what corruption is permissible (được phép) in our own lives.

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