Systems of Survival by Jane Jacobs. She comes up with an elegant social theory behind the nature of corruption. We know on a certain level why people can be s

Systems of Survival by Jane Jacobs. She comes up with an elegant social theory behind the nature of corruption. We know on a certain level why people can be seduced by corruption, but she introduces a higher level concept that describes why entire civilizations can be corrupt. The book is really short as her theory is quite elegantly explained in a short dialogue between intellectuals.