An interesting article on scientific studies of corruption in the English-language edition of El Pais. (I’ve been lately reading a few non-US news outlets, to get away from any “suffocation” from strictly local views.)
What science reveals about our tendency toward corruption
A bribery experiment involving people from 18 countries reveals that the phenomenon is largely subject to circumstance
english.elpais.com
This particular quote caught my attention (from an Epicurean point of view): “The prestigious researcher Robert Klitgaard summarized it by saying that corruption is not a crime of passion, but a crime of calculation. And people who choose to be corrupt are making very explicit calculations — namely, how much profit they can make, how likely they are to get caught and the consequences if they are.”
But there are some other views, that indicate pathe might also be involved ...
