Micro-cure for Corruption

I am writing this in response to the article, “Remedy Worse Than the Disease” (EPW, 25 November 2017) by Jayaprakash Narayan.

Narayan classifies corruption under two broad categories, that is, collusive corruption and extortion bribery. The first is systemic in the sense that it is institutionalised in the governance itself. The second has to do with the citizens and local bureaucracy, and it is culturally embedded. Collusive corruption corrodes the entire governance structure, whereas extortion bribery destroys the ethical dimensions of the state in the delivery of basic services and public goods. Seen from an institutional perspective, the first type operates at macro levels (branches) and the second takes place at the micro (root) levels. The micro-level practices in day-to-day administration have percolated and permeated into macro-level institutions, making the entire governance system unaccountable and non-transparent.