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Kleptocracy |
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CharacteristicsA kleptocracy is fundamentally premised on the Hobbesian social contract, whereby the people give up some rights to an authoritative body in exchange for the perception of basic protections. Basic protections, such as defense, must be funded by resources provided by the masses to the ruling elite, thus providing the core mechanism for transfer of resources from the masses to the ruling elite. Kleptocracies are often dictatorships or some other form of autocratic government, or lapsed democracies that have transformed into oligarchies. Since democracy makes outright thievery for direct personal gain slightly more difficult to sustain in the long term and still keep the current administration in power, more subtlety is employed. Some kleptocracies are a response to jingoism, and frequent bullying in the government place itself.Kleptocratic governance means that the economy is subordinated to the interests of the kleptocrats. Distributive states that derive their wealth from the extraction of natural resources (e.g., diamonds and oil, in a few prominent cases) can be particularly prone to kleptocracy. Redistributive governments that derive their wealth through taxation of their population have a natural limitation on how far they can extend kleptocratic policies. Their government can be destabilized through extending their grab to their own supporters or driving income producers away from the country or making them withdraw their labor or capital. A number of kleptocracies have enriched themselves via foreign aid, often spent on showy buildings and armaments. In general, a kleptocrat regards the national treasury as his own personal piggy bank. The creation of a kleptocracy powered by dictatorship typically results in many years of general hardship and suffering for the vast majority of citizens, as civil society and the rule of law disintegrate. In addition, kleptocrats routinely ignore economic and social problems in their quest to amass ever more wealth and power. The classic case of kleptocracy--in this sense--often given, is the regime of Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the Democratic Republic of the Congo (which he renamed Zaire) from 1965 to 1997. It is said that use of the term kleptocracy gained popularity largely as a description of Mobutu's regime. Another classic case is Nigeria, especially under the rule of General Sani Abacha who was de facto president of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He is reputed to have stolen some $3-4 billion. He and his relatives are often mentioned in Nigerian 419 letter scams claiming to offer vast fortunes for 'help' in laundering his stolen 'fortunes,' which in reality do not exist.[1] More recently, articles in various financial periodicals, most notably Forbes magazine, have pointed to Fidel Castro, ruler of the Republic of Cuba since 1959, as amassing a personal fortune worth US$900 million.[2] Opponents of his regime claim that he has used money amassed through weapons sales, narcotics, international loans, and confiscation of private property to enrich himself and the political cronies who hold his dictatorship together, and that the $900 million published by Forbes is merely a portion of his assets, although that needs to be proven.[3] Fidel Castro responded that he has a net worth of less than $1 USD, and challenged any one to prove that he has any money in overseas accounts.[4] Castro also stated that Forbes should "put a bucket over their heads to cover the loss of credibility brought by their lies".[5] Some observers use the term 'kleptocracy' to disparage political processes that permit corporations to influence political policy. Ralph Nader called the United States a kleptocracy in this sense of the word during the 2000 presidential campaign. Others however refer to this type of corporate influence over a state merely as a plutocracy. The protection society has against kleptocracy is largely dependent on the effectiveness of the rule of law to prevent political leaders abusing their powers, the free flow of information (necessary to properly identify kleptocrats) and ability of the population to remove corrupt leaders from office. Many such protections are included in legal documents such as a constitution or a bill of rights and are also found in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 17. Many countries have these protections, on paper; in many cases, the pronictive rules have not been enforced. Transparency International rankingIn early 2004, the anti-corruption Germany-based NGO Transparency International released a list of what it believes to be the ten most self-enriching leaders in recent years.[6]In order of amount allegedly stolen (in USD), they are
Kleptocracy in fictionIn fiction, kleptocracy has sometimes been portrayed as an actual part of the government or an important city guild, such as in Fritz Leiber's "Ill Met in Lankhmar", the Ferengi, and Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.See also
References1. ^ Who wants to be a millionaire? - An online collection of Nigerian scam mails 2. ^ USA Today discusses the Forbes report on Castro 3. ^ Fidel Castro article at Townhall.com 4. ^ [1] 5. ^ [2]] 6. ^ Plundering politicians and bribing multinationals undermine economic development, says TI (pdf). Transparency International (2004). Retrieved on October 16, 2006. form of government is a term that refers to the set of political institutions by which a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a political community.[1] Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government". ..... Click the link for more information. ..... Click the link for more information. This article lists forms of government and political systems, according to a series of different ways of categorising them. The systems listed are of course not mutually exclusive, and often have overlapping definitions (for example autocracy, authoritarianism, despotism, ..... Click the link for more information. Anarchism (from Greek αναρχία , "without archons," "without rulers")[1] is a political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which reject compulsory government[2] and support its elimination,[3] ..... Click the link for more information. aristocracy refers to a form of government where power is held by a small number of individuals from a social elite or from noble families. The transmission of power is often hereditary. ..... Click the link for more information. Authoritarianism describes a form of social control characterized by strict obedience to the authority of a state or organization, often maintaining and enforcing control through the use of oppressive measures. Authoritarian regimes are strongly hierarchical. ..... Click the link for more information. autocracy is a form of government in which the political power is held by a single self appointed ruler, usually a dictator. The term autocrat is derived from the Greek word autokratôr (lit. "self-ruler", or to: "rule by one's self"). ..... Click the link for more information. communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, or as a popular movement, see the communism article. Communism Basic concepts Marxist philosophy Class struggle ..... Click the link for more information. Democracy describes small number of related forms of government. The fundamental feature is competitive elections. Competitive elections are usually seen to require freedom of speech (especially in political affairs), freedom of the press, and some degree of rule of law. ..... Click the link for more information. Direct Democracy is a movement within the British Conservative Party dedicated to localism and constitutional reform. The group published a book on democracy, titled , authored by prominent Conservative politicians, to promote their ideas. ..... Click the link for more information. Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives. The representatives form an independent ruling body (for an election period) charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's ..... Click the link for more information. Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power. In its classical form, a despotism is a state where one single person, called a Despot ..... Click the link for more information. dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. It has three possible meanings:
..... Click the link for more information. Feudalism refers to a general set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility of Europe during the Middle Ages, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. ..... Click the link for more information. Kritarchy is a political system based on equal justice for all and the concept of natural rights. It differs from other political systems by its application of the rules of justice. ..... Click the link for more information. Krytocracy is a government ruled by judges. The word itself may either be a false archaism (it should properly be spelled critocracy or kritocracy), or may be a deliberate reference to other word-initial roots like "crypto-", or "hypo-" (as in hypocrisy), whose "y"s come from Greek ..... Click the link for more information. Libertarianism Schools of thought Agorism Anarcho-capitalism Geolibertarianism Green libertarianism Right-libertarianism Left-libertarianism Minarchism Neolibertarianism Paleolibertarianism Progressive libertarianism ..... Click the link for more information. original research or unverifiable claims. * Its factual accuracy is disputed. * It needs additional references or sources for verification. Please help [ improve the article] or discuss these issues on the talk page. ..... Click the link for more information. This article is written like a personal reflection or and may require . Please [ improve this article] by rewriting this article in an . (, talk) List of forms of government
..... Click the link for more information. Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or her land or country and its citizens freely, with no laws or legally-organized direct opposition in force. ..... Click the link for more information. constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state, as opposed to an absolute monarchy, where the monarch is not bound by a constitution and is the sole source of political ..... Click the link for more information. Ochlocracy (Greek: οχλοκρατία or ohlokratía; Latin: ochlocratia) is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of constitutional authorities. ..... Click the link for more information. Oligarchy (Greek Ὀλιγαρχία, Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or ..... Click the link for more information. plutocracy, power and opportunity are centralized within the affluent social class. The degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low. This can apply to a multitude of government systems, as the key elements of plutocracy transcend and often occur ..... Click the link for more information. republic, for all other uses see: republic (disambiguation) List of forms of government
Mixed government, also known as a mixed constitution, is a form of government that integrated facets of democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy. Mixed government means that there are some issues (often defined in a constitution) where the state is governed by the majority of the ..... Click the link for more information. constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens. ..... Click the link for more information. The Parliamentary Republic can refer to:
A ..... Click the link for more information. Socialist Republic is a republic governed on the principles of socialism usually by a communist or a socialist party. They are usually focused on a centrally planned economy, but sometimes they mix their economy with elements of a free market ..... Click the link for more information. capitalist republic is a concept of government in Marxist thought. Whereas a socialist republic is a "dictatorship of the proletariat", a capitalist republic is a "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie". ..... Click the link for more information. This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. |
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To realize this in a situation of great inequality at the local and global levels, what is required is a coordinated strategic struggle against a system of inequality often based on long-term kleptocracy and injustice. For Mexicans and the kleptocracy that keep them poor and illiterate, the border is no dividing line between two sovereign nations. Mancur Olson showed that kleptocracy at the top stunts the growth of poor countries. |
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Kleptocracy
