4 ms·

I think loyalty is the root of all corruption. If it's not it's pretty close.

dredmorbius 7y ago
There is also self-serving corruption. Loyalty is required for any systematic, organised, group-based corruption, however. Typology of corruption: http://corruptioncontrol.com/Types_of_Corruption.html http://corruptioncontrol.com/Types_of_Corruption.html
harry8 7y ago
And fear based discipline. Whistle-blower retaliation. And that, right there, is why the hideously corrupt hate Wikileaks so so much. Wikileaks publish. Always. Their reputation on it is rock solid. If you're corrupt or involved in a cover up you gotta hate that. And do everything to destroy it.
- MagnumOpus 7y ago
  Wikileaks was like that before it got infiltrated in 2016. Then it changed rapidly, not publishing when it does not serve Russian interests. One very prominent example: https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/17/wikileaks-turned-down-leaks-on-russian-government-during-u-s-presidential-campaign/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/17/wikileaks-turned-down-l...
  - fit2rule 7y ago
    This is such utter nonsense. How can any honest intellectual consider this to be anything other than the result of a calculated agitprop campaign by the utterly corrupt US military industrial complex .. Assange is not a Russian agent, and Wikileaks is not a Russian operation, and never was. It just so happens that the majority of dire, desperate corruption that Wikileaks revealed, was indeed committed by Western entities. This does not mean that Russia doesn't have its problems - but it has not committed war crimes and other very real crimes against humanity at anything near the scale of the criminal Western war coalition and the member 5-eyes nations. Please, inform yourself as to the nature of the very real agitprop campaign that has been waged against Wikileaks, and in so doing - have the courage to see Assange for the hero he really is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgw6FoFPhjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgw6FoFPhjo
  - harry8 7y ago
    > “The problem with the Trump campaign,” Assange said at the time, “is it’s actually hard for us to publish much more controversial material than what comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth every second day.” That seems really reasonable. Beyond the obvious thing that seems not to been mentioned; you can't publish what you don't have. Separate to that FP note themselves in this very article the concrete support for exactly what Wikileaks claimed. The previously published trove was published later in full, elsewhere to zero interest, including zero interest from FP. Beyond some anti-Assange spin seen here. The author of this piece doesn't have their heart in it though, do they? They want us to know all that so wrote it quite clearly for everyone to see. But yeah, spin it all to something nefarious because the existence of Wikileaks is kryptonite for corruption so everyone needs to unite against it. /s Oh and Biden is a racist, misogynist, corrupt, senile idiot. Just like Donald. Congratulations democracy. But make sure you don't notice that because failure to pick a party and see no evil in it means you're a Russian asset. Just ask Hilary.
- fit2rule 7y ago
  You are absolutely correct - people whose personal identities are highly dependent on associating with the untouchable West will have a much harder time accepting the truth of Wikileaks immensely valuable, important contribution to modern discourse over the nature of the West's coalition of the willing/5-eyes criminal state than those who do not have an American/UK/British/Canadian/NZ/etc national identity that will be bruised by the revelations of their nations' absolute, evil corruption, war crimes and real crimes against humanity.
empath75 7y ago
Personal loyalty. You can have loyalty to a cause or a country that isn’t corrupt. If you notice the way trump talks, it’s always about loyalty to him personally, not the country.
- unexaminedlife 7y ago
  I agree that there are ways in which loyalty manifests itself in positive ways for society and/or civilization as a whole, but I wonder whether or not unbounded loyalty to anything always comes with negatives.
fit2rule 7y ago
Secrecy - and its many forms, such as (but not limited to) ignorance, subterfuge, deceit, etc. - is the root of all corruption. Societies and institutions, groups of people which keep secrets, are fundamentally corrupt. You cannot deceive and be dishonest when the truth is available for all and sundry. You can freely be dishonest, and weaponise that dishonesty, and thus profit from it, in conditions where secrecy is elevated as a norm. The nations with the greatest secrets are also the most corrupt.

There is also self-serving corruption. Loyalty is required for any systematic, organised, group-based corruption, however. Typology of corruption: http://corruptioncontrol.com/Types_of_Corruption.html http://corruptioncontrol.com/Types_of_Corruption.html

harry8 7y ago

And fear based discipline. Whistle-blower retaliation. And that, right there, is why the hideously corrupt hate Wikileaks so so much. Wikileaks publish. Always. Their reputation on it is rock solid. If you're corrupt or involved in a cover up you gotta hate that. And do everything to destroy it.

MagnumOpus 7y ago
Wikileaks was like that before it got infiltrated in 2016. Then it changed rapidly, not publishing when it does not serve Russian interests. One very prominent example: https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/17/wikileaks-turned-down-leaks-on-russian-government-during-u-s-presidential-campaign/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/17/wikileaks-turned-down-l...
- fit2rule 7y ago
  This is such utter nonsense. How can any honest intellectual consider this to be anything other than the result of a calculated agitprop campaign by the utterly corrupt US military industrial complex .. Assange is not a Russian agent, and Wikileaks is not a Russian operation, and never was. It just so happens that the majority of dire, desperate corruption that Wikileaks revealed, was indeed committed by Western entities. This does not mean that Russia doesn't have its problems - but it has not committed war crimes and other very real crimes against humanity at anything near the scale of the criminal Western war coalition and the member 5-eyes nations. Please, inform yourself as to the nature of the very real agitprop campaign that has been waged against Wikileaks, and in so doing - have the courage to see Assange for the hero he really is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgw6FoFPhjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgw6FoFPhjo
- harry8 7y ago
  > “The problem with the Trump campaign,” Assange said at the time, “is it’s actually hard for us to publish much more controversial material than what comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth every second day.” That seems really reasonable. Beyond the obvious thing that seems not to been mentioned; you can't publish what you don't have. Separate to that FP note themselves in this very article the concrete support for exactly what Wikileaks claimed. The previously published trove was published later in full, elsewhere to zero interest, including zero interest from FP. Beyond some anti-Assange spin seen here. The author of this piece doesn't have their heart in it though, do they? They want us to know all that so wrote it quite clearly for everyone to see. But yeah, spin it all to something nefarious because the existence of Wikileaks is kryptonite for corruption so everyone needs to unite against it. /s Oh and Biden is a racist, misogynist, corrupt, senile idiot. Just like Donald. Congratulations democracy. But make sure you don't notice that because failure to pick a party and see no evil in it means you're a Russian asset. Just ask Hilary.
fit2rule 7y ago
You are absolutely correct - people whose personal identities are highly dependent on associating with the untouchable West will have a much harder time accepting the truth of Wikileaks immensely valuable, important contribution to modern discourse over the nature of the West's coalition of the willing/5-eyes criminal state than those who do not have an American/UK/British/Canadian/NZ/etc national identity that will be bruised by the revelations of their nations' absolute, evil corruption, war crimes and real crimes against humanity.

empath75 7y ago

Personal loyalty. You can have loyalty to a cause or a country that isn’t corrupt. If you notice the way trump talks, it’s always about loyalty to him personally, not the country.

unexaminedlife 7y ago
I agree that there are ways in which loyalty manifests itself in positive ways for society and/or civilization as a whole, but I wonder whether or not unbounded loyalty to anything always comes with negatives.

fit2rule 7y ago

Secrecy - and its many forms, such as (but not limited to) ignorance, subterfuge, deceit, etc. - is the root of all corruption. Societies and institutions, groups of people which keep secrets, are fundamentally corrupt. You cannot deceive and be dishonest when the truth is available for all and sundry. You can freely be dishonest, and weaponise that dishonesty, and thus profit from it, in conditions where secrecy is elevated as a norm. The nations with the greatest secrets are also the most corrupt.