Introduction
In the paper of Patron-Client
Networks and the Economic Effects of Corruption in Asia, Mushtaq Khan traces
the political influence of the Indian subcontinent’s middle class in their leading
role in the anti-colonial struggles and argues that in the post-colonial era,
the class has played its part in corruption through a transaction channel that
I would like to term it “bribe-for-support”. This view is not far from
realities and in the present days, if not all, a part of the body of middle
class is playing an active role in state corruption by justifying unethical,
illegal or extra-legal and unjust policies of the politicians and state.
Who are the middle class?
Khan defines the
middle class as “the educated sections of the population” who are
non-capitalists, non-politicians, non-peasants and surely not landlords[1].
Hence, their main asset using which they can make a living is their intellect.
This class can employ the asset either to serve high humane values such as
expansion of justice, promoting equality, peace and freedom, or, conversely, succumb
to the lures of money, power, or position and engage in justifying/turning a
blind eye on unjust and illegal policies and corrupt practices. Khan’s argument
implies that the middle class has chosen to succumb instead of resisting.
The class played a critical role in the subcontinent’s political
corruption
As Khan
observes, the politicians understand the importance of the middle class’
support who can mobilize the masses against the ruling class. In the
aftereffect of demise of colonialism, the class was much stronger and a real
threat to the ruling class. Hence, to have its support, the government would
bribe the class in different ways – distribution of cheap land and heavy
investment in higher education that was then entirely serving the middle class
are two examples of such bribes[2].
Following Khan, I
am of the opinion that the middle class has continuously betrayed high ethical
and humane values and at high times, it has surrendered to the temptation
triangle: money, power and position. The funds saved from spending on running
election campaigns paves the ground for bribing the middle class. However, the
members of this class have never pushed for electoral financing reforms that
shall target banning capitalists from funding candidates’ campaigns which opens
the doors for their intervention in state agendas. It is mostly the members of
this class that pickup their pens and write to justify the corrupt practices of
the politicians during election campaign in order to get a position in the
post-election government.
Its role in corruption might have increased
With the
increase of power of states and capitalists in recent decades, the influence
and importance of middle class has relatively shrunk; this, I believe, might
have increased the role of the class in corrupt practices. When relatively
powerful, the class can better resist the pressure of different forms from the
state and politicians to side with their unjust and illegal policies and
practices. A weaker middle class, though, is much more prone to the influence
of state and politicians. This means, the body of intellectuals are now more
prone to accept corrupt practices of the state, support and justify them out of
inability to resist. This is a very obvious fact in the context of Afghanistan.
In the four presidential elections that have taken place in Afghanistan in the
post-Taliban epoch, it has been the members of the middle class at the
forefront of justification of the dark and tyrant past of the politicians.
Afghanistan has been repeatedly ranked as one of the most corrupt states in the
past twenty years. The interesting point is that most politicians and bureaucrats
are coming from the middle class.
Summary
To sum up,
concurring with Khan, I believe that the middle class has given in to the fascination
of power, money and official government posts. This unethical behaviour has
helped state and administrative corruption to take roots and grow overtime. It
is very famous among the political scientists that in the absence of constant
criticism and oversight of intellectuals, power corrupts those who own it. The
middle class – defined as the educated section of a society – bears an ethical
obligation to oversight power, critique it for the purpose of reform and take
active part in the produce, reproduction and distribution of knowledge. I am of
the view that in the developing countries, the said section of the society, by
siding with the politicians and the ruling class, has failed to fulfill its
obligations. One can even argue that a part of, if not the whole, middle class,
i.e. the intellectuals, has remained as corruption-justifying instrument in the
hands of politicians and rulers in the Indian subcontinent and in the Central
Asian and Middle East countries.
[1] Khan,
M. Patron—Client Networks and the Economic Effects of Corruption in Asia. Eur J
Dev Res 10, 15–39 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1080/09578819808426700
[2]
