Beginning: What is corruption?

Corruption is a broad concept of a complex phenomenon, with its various aspects, forms, causes and repercussions, and includes a wide spectrum of practices: such as bribery, embezzlement, blackmail, favoritism, and exploitation of power and influence… and everything that harms the public interest and serves the personal interest. Mediation in appointment and promotion, and obtaining financial and administrative gains, remains one of the most widespread and influential practices in creating a state of popular dissatisfaction, a feeling of injustice, and the absence of justice and equal opportunities, which ultimately leads to antagonistic competition and weakens the spirit of belonging and giving within the framework of one society. What is important here is that the continuation of these negative manifestations without real and radical treatments turns them into a prevailing culture that is “accepted as a fait accompli” (de facto), especially among younger generations, which makes eradicating them an extremely difficult issue.

This is about corruption in general, and now, from this ground, and if we project all of this onto our Jordanian case, some questions must be raised before we engage in discussing this case and proposing appropriate solutions to it.

Beginning: Do we have corruption? What are its forms and roots? Is there an exaggeration in talk about its spread? What is its true size? Has this corruption turned into a widespread phenomenon with its own incubating environment? And what is the relationship of all of this to societal awareness? Finally, is there an effective practical vision capable of confronting and eradicating this phenomenon? .

According to sociologists, the manifestations of corruption stemming from the innate human tendency to seize gains for oneself and for oneself are present in human societies throughout history, but systems of values and morals, through upbringing, instruction, guidance, enactment of laws, and their fair application, have always been, and still are, the means used by societies to confront selfish centrality, greed, and self-centeredness, which must take place in the family atmosphere first, as well as in educational institutions, and in the social environment, that is, Freedom from instinctive selfishness is not possible without humane education. This is in principle.

However, returning to the phenomenon, or (if you like) the scourge of corruption of all kinds, the conviction of the average person in the street that it is widespread, to a large extent, and permeates our public and private institutions, is what we can call “impressionistic corruption.” The truth is that manifestations and practices of corruption exist in our institutions, but they are not at the level that some imagine, and for the reasons we mentioned, and they are mostly of the small administrative type of corruption, which spreads and accumulates to form the ground and incubating environment for greater corruption.

These corrupt practices have a direct relationship to concepts, such as nepotism, nepotism, the flaw in the concept of justice, equal opportunities, the ease of circumventing the law, assaulting public money, and the connection of all of this to regionalism, and taking shelter behind subsidiary loyalties, as an alternative to the state of institutions and the law. These are practices that exist, as we mentioned, but exaggeration in their description and spread is definitely not in the interest of society, but rather feeds into the mill of the corrupt themselves, whose interest is to exaggerate the situation, to turn it into a living social condition, which we must accept as a reality that is difficult to control, or even an inevitable fate, and enhance the feeling of helplessness in confronting it. Here lies the danger, when the corrupt person feels comfortable, reassured, and relaxed, since the corruption he practices constitutes part of “general and comprehensive corruption.” Therefore, it is necessary to be careful when generalizing the state of corruption, so as not to turn from condemning the corrupt to providing them with free service.

It can be said that corruption is not a “social condition,” but rather a practice that has a direct relationship with societal awareness, or “societal prevalence,” that is, the extent to which society accepts it. Here it must be recognized that the massive global changes that have occurred over the past two decades, especially in the field of the information revolution, have brought about a real revolution in the concepts and behaviors of the inhabitants of the planet, sweeping away with them many of the rules and values ​​that had prevailed over the preceding centuries, which led to radical changes in the nature of social relations at all levels, starting with the family, educational institutions, and society in general, all the way to the relationship between man and himself. As a result, new hybrid values ​​and behaviors prevail, the basis of which is introversion and isolation around the “selfish self” (me and after me the flood), and the spread of the culture of consumption, greed, avarice, and quick gain, without effort, or any connection to social, moral, and even religious values ​​in many cases, reaching a state that is closest to “instinctual selfishness.” What helped lead to this abnormal situation is the weak immunity that must be provided by the family and educational institutions, and those that contribute to education and shaping community awareness. The family is no longer able to control awareness and behavior, and the status of the teacher as a role model who can effectively influence has declined, to the point that the school curriculum no longer keeps pace with these tremendous changes that have ravaged the world. The Corona pandemic, which has confined the people of the world for months in their homes, has revealed the extent of the fragility of societies, especially young women.

If we took a quick look at the condition of our youth and our educational institutions during that period, we would find the spread of cheating in exams, even with the encouragement of parents in many cases, and the spread of nepotism in the process of evaluating students, grades, purchasing student research and projects, and other such practices that changed the societal outlook towards them, to transform them into disgraceful actions and behaviors, whose perpetrators are not respected, but rather deserve social ostracism, as they conflict with moral values and principles. To situations that fall within the concepts of “savvy,” “foolishness,” and the ability to “seize opportunities,” using all methods and means, no matter how vile or illegal, as long as they bring personal benefit and gain! According to the concept of “instinctive selfishness,” which is exacerbated in cases of emergency, crisis, and uncertainty. Where corrupt groups have formed that do not believe in the law, justice, and noble values, and consider everyone who does not “rise up” to their corrupt practices, “naive,” and do not know “where the shoulder is eaten from,” and even live according to outdated rules and values! Thus, with all simplicity and contempt, they are trying to impose a new culture to prevail and dominate the consciousness of people, especially young people, replacing the culture of quick and comfortable earning, even if it is through fraud, in place of the culture of honest work, effort, perseverance, creativity and excellence.

Confronting the attempts to establish this distorted approach in our lives requires effective measures to change the collective awareness regarding all the concepts related to the phenomenon of corruption, starting from the home, passing through educational institutions, places of worship, and the media space, all the way to work institutions and positions of public responsibility, in order to establish a situation in which the corrupt person becomes an outcast, because he practices vile, vile, and shameful work, and does not enable his owner to have prestige, prestige, or respect. At the same time, the law is applied without relentlessness or discrimination. A conscious society armed with noble values ​​will, in the end, be the deciding factor and the strongest element in rejecting the corrupt, fighting them, and even uprooting them from their roots. Otherwise, the corrupt will continue to play their “satanic” game of polluting society’s awareness, controlling and corrupting its elites, buying off their debts, and employing them to further distort, bulldoze, and sabotage societal awareness, to ensure the continued dominance and influence of their corrupt operators.

This is the equation, simply and clearly, and here is the key and the solution! A conscious society will not allow a candidate who took advantage of people’s needs and practiced buying debts, to talk about corruption, or to claim to defend the issues of the nation and the weak groups of society. For the corrupt, these simple people are nothing but tools to reach the position that guarantees them influence to achieve their own interests. The corrupt will continue to work to obscure the true awareness of society, as a main goal for the continuation of his influence and corruption, which harms the nation and assassinates the dreams of its sons and daughters. As for a conscious society, it is not fooled by flowery speeches, sweet promises, electoral packages, or even pictures with orphaned children and people with disabilities. Such practices have become exposed and arouse feelings of discontent and disgust among the overwhelming majority of our society.

Hence, our people and their conscious political and social elite look to the future, and are betting on activating the outcomes of the political, economic and administrative modernization system supported by a supreme political will, to reach a real political and partisan life, producing parliamentary councils capable of bringing about the desired change, which establishes the values of justice, equal opportunities, and the rule of law for all, unleashes the creative energies of youth, enhances belonging to the homeland, and fortifies its internal front in the face of internal and external challenges, which contributes to achieving the vision of His Majesty the King. Partisan parliaments and governments competing in visions and programs are the right path to reach a democratic civil state, which guarantees the provision of justice and the rule of law, and the formation of collective consciousness on new foundations, concepts and values, far from mediocrity, nepotism, and sub-loyalties, and which is capable of bringing about the desired change. Certainly, the success of the national comprehensive modernization project will represent the most effective recipe for uprooting corruption from its roots and building a model Jordan.