From Ballots to Betrayal: The Legalized Corruption of Democracies Worldwide
From Ballots to Betrayal: The
Legalized Corruption of Democracies Worldwide
Corruption isn’t a bug in modern
democracy; it’s the system itself. While the spotlight stays on elected
officials and bureaucrats, it misses something deeper: citizens often enable
the rot. This isn’t just top-down corruption; it’s normalized through everyday
compromises, silent complicity, and a culture that prefers shortcuts over
principles.
It shows up in small things, someone
cutting in line with no pushback, rules bent casually, and fairness made
optional. These aren’t isolated events; they’re symptoms of a society
conditioned to accept injustice as routine.
Democracy is supposed to serve
the public. But when laws are quietly crafted to benefit a few while the rest
are kept in the dark, governance becomes control, not service. Legality doesn’t
make it just. It just makes it harder to fight.
India offers clear evidence. The
now-defunct Electoral Bonds scheme let corporations and individuals funnel
anonymous money to political parties, mostly to the ruling BJP. Labeled as
reform and passed as a “Money Bill,” it avoided scrutiny and kept the public
blind. The Supreme Court finally struck it down in 2024, but for seven years,
it legally enabled pay-to-play politics.
At the same time, the Modi
government pushed changes that eroded checks and balances removing the Chief
Justice from the selection panel for election commissioners, shielding the
Election Commission from legal challenge, and increasing executive control over
supposedly independent institutions. These moves weren’t about efficiency; they
were about power.
The U.S. isn’t any better. The
Citizens United decision in 2010 opened the floodgates for corporate election
spending, reframing money as “free speech.” Now, political campaigns run on
corporate dollars, and policy responds to donors not voters.
Other U.S. laws quietly favor
industry over people. The McCarran–Ferguson Act shields insurers from federal
antitrust laws. Many now operate as both payers and providers blurring ethical
lines for profit. Consumer protection has been gutted through arbitration
clauses and barriers to class-action lawsuits. Justice is no longer affordable,
let alone accessible.
Then there’s religion a tool not
of unity, but of manipulation. In both India and the U.S., political players
use religion to rewrite rules and divide people. In America, abortion an issue
of personal choice has been hijacked by religious rhetoric to justify control
over women’s bodies. The fall of Roe v. Wade wasn’t just legal it was
ideological.
In India, the ruling party openly
blends with religious identity. Leaders in saffron robes, temple visits, and
hardline rhetoric aren't just optics; they’re part of a calculated merger
between political power and religious dominance. Criticism becomes
“anti-faith,” and lawmaking becomes immune to democratic challenge. While a
handful reap power, the public is either sedated by pride or silenced by fear.
These aren’t side effects, they’re
strategies. Religion is being weaponized to distract, divide, and justify
authoritarian overreach. It silences dissent, sanctifies bad policy, and cloaks
corruption in virtue. And it works, because it’s easier to manipulate belief
than to explain betrayal.
What’s most disturbing is how
legitimate it all looks. Laws pass. Rituals continue. The system hums along just
in the wrong direction.
This isn’t about rogue actors; it’s
about entire systems rigged by design. Bureaucracies are structured to
frustrate citizens, pushing them toward politicians who monetize access. And the
media, owned by the same powers that benefit from the chaos, keeps the public
confused or numb.
This is not a national problem.
It’s global. From rich democracies to emerging ones, greed now shapes
governance. The law has become a tool not for justice, but for protecting the
powerful.
Unless citizens pay attention every
day, not just on election day, democracy will keep eroding. Not in a dramatic
collapse, but in quiet, procedural decay.
It won’t die in one blow. It’s
already dying behind closed doors, while we’re looking the other way.
This is the path from democracy to authoritarian rule leading to dictatorship. Weak, frightened and less educated follow this path. Modi and Trump are examples.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ajay, you got it. But the article reveals something even more disturbing: most people are too apathetic or lazy to learn their rights let alone stand up for them. In many parts of the Islamic world, for example, women don't raise their voices against patriarchal control, not because they agree with it, but because their basic needs food, clothing, and shelter, are met. That becomes their definition of a "good life." And that’s precisely how religious thugs hijack societies: they offer just enough for survival, and in return demand blind obedience. This is how intellectually limited leaders rise to power propped up by the privileged few, accepted by the passive majority. The public, exhausted or indifferent, just lives with it.
DeleteTake what's happening in India right now. The nation should be outraged demanding the arrest of Amit Shah for allowing police to open fire on civilians in Ladakh, where four people died and many were injured. Instead, the government arrested the local leader who was organizing peaceful protests a man known for nonviolent resistance. This isn't law and order. This is suppression. Amit Shah today mirrors General Dyer, who ordered the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh. The difference is only in the uniform, not the mindset.