Musing
First, let me begin with an apology to yet innocent citizens whom the title of this piece might appear to lump into a generalization of pilferers or embezzlers in the country and world at large. The right word might actually be corruption because it includes many other anomalies in society, but it is good we start from stealing as it is the chief that leads to other corruptions in society. Those who steal will lie to cover up, blackmail, bribe, etc., and not to forget that corruption is simply the distortion of right processes.
But the near generalization is necessary as there appears to be no saint around, or there actually are but they pale in comparison to those caught in the web of corruption. It is even more alarming when we see a lot of voices who condemned societal anomalies now being muted because they are now part of the system. Else, how do we explain that governors, senators, ministers, are former technocrats, activists and even journalists who worked and wrote against bad leadership, followership and corruption?
And yes, it is the system that is the problem, not really the people. Some of these leaders and other corrupt ‘common people’ today went into the system in all sincerity to effect positive changes, but alas, the system’s hypnotic power numbs them and they forget why they came or they become simply incapacitated and join the feast.
The quite amusing aspect is that looters never seem to loot enough, that’s why after decades in power, most of them continue to hang around the corridors of power either as special contractors or consultants. It begs the question; how much can one have before poverty is driven eternally from such a person? A trillion dollars maybe. Because it is all about the money and not service nor value addition to humanity.
In the discussions about corruption, a lot has been said of what corruption does to a society, yet it is also important to speak of what it does to the corrupt person. Corruption corrupts or distorts the sensibility of the corrupt. For example, how do we explain the actions of people who hoard bags of money in their houses knowing the money will become moldy and consequently cease to be legal tender?
It is important to note that in this corruption conundrum, our presidents are often innocent, not because of the immunity their office accords to them, but for other reasons. The presidents are in theory always very busy, having meetings nationally and globally, signing contracts, receiving guests, etc. and so do not have the time to be corrupt.
In summary, why do we steal?
We steal because we are afraid of the unknown tomorrow, a tomorrow we do not know what it will bring, sickness, fire or flood. And since money is a defense for a great percentage of the issues of life, we try to amass as much as we can without knowing when to stop
We steal because we are humans, in this sense, character failure
Excessive fear of poverty which in itself leads to poverty of character
Experience from the fate of past retirees, rich or poor. A lot of pensioners have died trying to get their pensions for survival.
Demands and pressure from family and friends who believe that the national cake is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that must be seriously utilized.
We steal because of the bandwagon effect, people see others stealing and just join the parade.
We steal because it has become a culture, system, institutionalized. And as we know, culture more often than not defeats us.
