A well-known (or at least well-advertised) pundit has been beating the drums for weeks about the BRICS summit being held today (22 August 2023) as I write this. The beginning of the end of the American dollar, the American economy and global dominance, overturning the world once again. And of course offering opportunities for an amazing gathering of wealth from getting gold and playing currency games to profit from chaos.

Well, little or nothing has happened yet. Or the media has collapsed faster than the world’s climate. Or Luna-25 dashing its brains out on the Lunar south pole. But even in 2023, these sorts of things do take time. Wait and see.

And in the meantime, lets talk about something else. Corruption. Corruption in government, yes, but corruption in society: in morals and churches and businesses and families.

Anther pundit interviewing yet another talking head was told that he believed that corruption in Ukraine is worse than in Mexico, and even than the old Soviet Union, based on his knowledge and travel over decades in the various countries. We notice he did not comment on corruption in the States.

Some countries (the Saudi Kingdom of Arabia comes to mind) are built on “solid” foundations of corruption: today (and probably in the past) most clan-based, family-controlled societies (and their governments) were inherently corrupt. At least by Western standards. (Perhaps we should say, former Western standards?)

But just what is corruption? Merriam-Webster defines it as “noun ; a · dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers) : depravity.” Interesting, is it not, that a dictionary synonym is “depravity.”

Here at TPOL we like Transparency.org’s definition: “We define corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.” Nice, simple, to the point.

Another good one is found at Investopedia: “Corruption is any dishonest or fraudulent behavior wherein someone uses their position of power to benefit themselves at the expense of others.” At the same time, Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute’s definition is “Corruption is a dishonest, fraudulent, or even criminal act of an individual or organization, using entrusted authority or power to make a personal gain or other unethical or illegal benefits. Corruption happens not only in political fields but also in social and economic fields, such as business, education, media, and so on. A lack of transparency and effective regulations are often the main causes of corruption.”

(Now, we’d like to believe that Cornell is an honest organization. After all it is supposedly a private university, NOT a government-controlled, tax-funded (GRTF) one. But according to Wikipedia,  several of its colleges are state-supported (State of New York) and it is a land-grant university: designated by the State to do certain things to support government directly and of course, to receive public funds from the FedGov and State governments. (Look up the Morrill Acts.) To us at TPOL, that is a GRTF school: a branch of the government(s).

And also, a perfect example, on the part of faculty, staff, leadership, and every other part of the academic community of Cornell, of corruption.

But of course, they claim otherwise. In essence saying, “it is legal, so it can’t be fraudulent or dishonest.” To us as lovers of God and of liberty, neither fraud nor dishonesty are defined by human, legislated law. After all, both the National Socialists in Germany and the Fascists in Italy and Spain, for the most part, did things that were “legal.” The laws (which they passed, we note) said they had the legal power to do so.

Of course, Cornell’s definition specifically addresses the field of “education.” When they are pointing to corruption, there are three fingers pointing back at them. Is hypocrisy too harsh a word?

What we understand of the BRICS organization and summit is that these five nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have decided that the Powers that Be (PTB) in the world, namely the United States, the United Kingdom and (most of) its Commonwealth, and the European Union, are corrupt and have looted the planet and now space for generations, and this Group of Seven’s corruption must be fought in monetary and economic ways (not outright warfare). In their Jo’burg meeting this week the BRICS have decided they will open their organization to many more nations, and are supposed to be establishing a “new reserve currency” to replace the US dollar.

To us, as lovers of liberty, it seems to be nothing more than a change in who benefits from corruption: who defrauds and dishonestly does things to benefit themselves at the expense of others.

Because, when we get right down to it, we must ask something. Is ANY mandatory government anything but corruption? Some less than others, perhaps, but still given certain people in power benefits at the expense of others. Morally, if not legally, dishonestly and aggressing (through fraud and direct force or threat of force). Politicians and bureaucrats who are corrupt are not outliers: we can argue that they are the norm, the default!

It is part of the world. But it is also a part of the world that can be, that must be, fought against. At least controlled and suppressed as much as possible. Is it any different than “private” murder, or “private” theft? we will always have those with us, but simple human decency demands we fight against them.