FACES AND PLACES: Is corruption inevitable? (04/12/98)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Is corruption inevitable?

Anticipating the Communist victory in Ukraine, the March 28 issue of The Economist quoted one Western diplomat as saying: "In some ways I warm to the Communists. At least they believe in something, while our so-called buddies are just opportunist scum."

The diplomat was right, of course. For many, the non-Communists in Ukraine are canaille. And the Communists do believe in something. It's called power.

How bad are things in Ukraine? The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ranks Ukraine near the bottom of its list of transitional economies, behind even Albania and Bulgaria. According to a December 1997, Socis-Gallup poll, 79 percent of the Ukrainian people believe they were better off during Soviet times. Given that kind of disillusionment, its a wonder that no more than a third of the people voted either for the Communist Party or for their collaborators, the Socialist and Peasant parties.

The main problem in Ukraine today, the mother of all abominations, is corruption. Being an honest businessman in Ukraine is impossible, while being a dishonest parliamentarian is not only possible, it is encouraged by the law. No sitting parliamentarian in Ukraine can be prosecuted for corruption. For many Ukrainian national deputies this is a license to steal. Their main business resource is power, and in the words of Dr. Angelo M. Codevilla, author of "The Character of Nations: How Politics Makes and Breaks Prosperity, Family and Civility," "these nomenklatura-turned-'biznesmeny' reap without sowing. Compared with such pure parasites, the thugs who run protection rackets work for a living and sometimes actually come close to providing a service."

Ukraine is not alone among nations for its high level of corruption. David Pryce-Jones believes that corruption rules the world (The American Spectator, December 1997). "In far the greatest part of the world, absolutism and tyranny remain the human norm. The strong will seize the spoils ... Superior force is decisive."

"Because the Soviet system was not replaced by another," writes Dr. Codevilla, the present economy is being run by the nomenklatura "to whom the Soviet economy was essentially gifted. These people usually occupy the same offices they did before 1991. Regardless of the titles on their business cards or the political labels they may now sport, they brought their habits with them." This is certainly true of Ukraine's Pavlo Lazarenko, the notoriously rich robber baron whose party, Hromada, gained 4.7 percent of the vote on March 29.

Mr. Lazarenko is doing what comes naturally. Under the Communists, the leadership was expected to enrich itself. Todor Zhivkov of Bulgaria, for example, had 40 residences while his neighbor, Nicolae Ceaucescu, had twice that many.

Today, a corrupt oligarchy, which includes Boris Berezovsky and former prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, decide, Russia's economic fate. All made their fortunes after the collapse of the USSR. "In Russia itself," writes Mr. Pryce-Jones, "there are some 10,000 gangs. Government, the police and the army are privileged mafias rather than law-enforcers." Some 24 Russian gangs are currently operating in the United States.

Corruption can be found on all continents. Indonesia is essentially the property of President Suharto and his family. Pakistan is controlled by a small group of feudal landlords. Two former presidents of South Korea are in jail for corruption and violence. Japan's economy is on the verge of economic collapse due to racketeering in the stock market and real estate. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos amassed a fortune of $50 billion during their reign over the Philippines. Government corruption in India is rampant.

The personal wealth of presidents Mobuto of Zaire and Daniel arap Moi of Kenya was estimated at $30 billion each. Some $4.5 billion of public funds have apparently disappeared in South Africa since Nelson Mandela and his party took over.

Fernando Collor, president of Brazil, and Carlos-Andres Perez of Venezuela have both embezzled state funds. Mexican president Carlos Salinas had to flee the country to escape prosecution.

Europe is not much better. President George Papandreaou of Greece enriched himself and his cronies. Many Italian politicians and industrialists are under indictment or serving time in prison. The Spanish Socialist Party accepted illegal donations while the head of Spain's national police force stole state funds and fled the country. French lawmakers and businessmen have been tried and convicted of corruption.

The United States too has had its share of corruption. The scandals surrounding Tammany Hall in New York City and the Pendergast machine in Kansas City are well documented. Hardly a year goes by in Chicago without some city officials being prosecuted for being on the take. Political machines in Maryland, New Jersey, Arkansas and Oklahoma have often been mentioned as tainted by criminal acts. The administrations of Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Warren G. Harding were plagued by scandal. President Richard M. Nixon was forced to resign because he attempted to obstruct justice.

Today, our federal government is moving towards more centralized control. Numerous agencies now control agriculture, medicine, universities, the arts and business, determining what can be planted, what research is to be funded, who is to be admitted, what is true art, and who is hired and fired. Millions of pages of government regulations now require lawyers, legislative lobbyists, accountants and other specialists to get one through the maze. As Dr. Codevilla points out: "In the Soviet Union, they called such people 'tolkachi.'"

In Ukraine, most people have lost faith in their destiny. With a loss of faith comes a loss of hope followed by a gradual erosion of the human spirit. Debased humans can hardly conceive of the possibility of standing up for their own rights much less for the rights of others. In time they become mean-spirited, an attitude, according to Dr. Codevilla, "by which they mean to mitigate abasement at the hands of some by inflicting it on others."

During Soviet times in Ukraine, being a government official meant being in a position to make life hard for others and easy for oneself. This mindset, apparently, still dominates. As long as it does, corruption is inevitable.

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: mbkuropas@compuserve.com