This year, we were fortunate to review close to 200 exceptional essay entries to our Annual Essay Competition 2024. The Third Place winner is Rohan Guntur from Reading School:

“Corruption, embezzlement, fraud, these are all characteristics which exist everywhere. It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not.” (Allan Greenspan). Discuss.

The anatomy of the nature of man has been dissected by philosophers dating as far back as Socrates of ancient Greece (Hedges, 2021), into the present day where the idea of human nature is now looked at through a biological lens as humanity seeks to understand the inner ‘components’ of the mind. Alan Greenspan’s theory is one of particular intrigue, as he reasons that corruption and similar elements are inherently present within human nature, hence it is omnipresent in all human interaction. Pertaining to this, technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated in the modern day, allowing for more intricate and lucrative methods of embezzlement and fraud. In 2023 alone, a recorded $3.1 trillion USD of illicit funds were reportedly flowing through banks globally (AML Intelligence Correspondents, 2024). Therefore now more than ever before, humanity faces a burgeoning urgency to investigate theories such as Greenspan’s in order to expand our understanding of human nature and in doing so, we may be able to reliably predict and prevent sources of deceit in the future.

To understand the nature of fraud, it is crucial to understand its origins. One of the most pioneering theories behind the conception of deceitfulness within an individual or group is the Fraud Triangle, developed by Dr Donald Cressey. Cressey brings forward the notion that there are simply three elements that define whether an individual is likely to undertake falsehood, these being: Existing financial pressure, an opportunity to rid themselves of their hardship and finally the rationalization which motivates them to commit to such a frowned-upon practice. While Greenspan’s argument highlights the disheartening fact that certain individuals in authority without oversight may not always be trusted upon, there is the argument to be made that the fault lies not completely on the individual. Perhaps, if corporations and legislative organizations enhanced oversight and addressed employee wellbeing, fraud may become less pervasive within organisations.

On the topic of organisations, Greenspan contends that corruption and its complements are extensive across all socially involved systems as he observes that ‘these are all characteristics which exist everywhere’, proceeding to make the logical conclusion that these are ubiquitous aspects of human nature, noting that ‘it is the way human nature functions’. While this is a sound argument, historically there have been frequent cases where the presence of corruption within an administrative system can be traced back to only a minute group of elite members of power with enough jurisdiction to compromise the integrity of the entire governance.

The most distinguished example of such a system is known as a kleptocracy: a system revolving around the idea of ‘grand corruption’ (Mayne, 2022), where a select few members of power within a governing body are granted ‘near-total impunity for those authorized to loot by the thief-in-chief’ (Wedeman, n.d.), in other words they are warranted to abuse national resources on an economy-wide scale to further their own gain. One of the most detailed examples of this system is the notorious Ferdinand Marcos, former president of the Philippines (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2024). Allegedly, Marcos and his associates diverted large sums of money from foreign economic, laundering the money through offshore shell companies. Estimates predict the total value of these diverted funds to reach up to $30 billion USD (“Unexplained Wealth of the Marcos Family”, 2024), money which would undoubtedly be the salvation of the citizens, especially after the many natural disasters that have affected the island (“Philippines”, 2021).

Ultimately, the example of Ferdinand Marcos demonstrates that corruption is not always systematic among government officials of all positions. Rather, it stems from the traitorous actions of the minority of those with the rare opportunity of theft without retribution, dooming entire nations.

The notion that humanity shares aspects of human nature as Alan Greenspan implies lacks validation from current scientific research. However, by applying the theory of behaviourism (Watson, 1925) to examples of cognitive development, it may be possible to narrow down the roots of corruption and fraud within the human minds of certain individuals under specific circumstances. For instance, if a young child was to engage in a relatively harmless act of deceit such as the telling of a lie, the feedback from this situation may result in a learning experience that may affect the child’s actions in future. In the event that the child’s dishonesty benefitted them, they may develop a neural connection between fraudulence and profit. This is an illustration of the behaviourist theory, where a conditioned interaction with the environment (McLeod, 2024) produced an association between interaction and feedback, leading to a change in behaviour.

Thus, ‘corruption, embezzlement, fraud’ (Greenspan, 2007) are not inherent principles of human nature. Rather, these imperfections are derived from the environment itself, which gives way to the possibility of removing these flaws by altering the learning environment that we as humans are subject to. In other words, by disproving the perceived net benefit of fraudulence through the education system, humanity could theoretically be educated to always display credibility and honesty. Although, alternative psychological factors (such as social pressures) are not accounted for by this example, hence it is unreasonable to conclude that corruption, fraud and embezzlement can be fully eliminated, which is thoughtfully indicated by Greenspan when he adds: “no one has ever eliminated any of that stuff.” (Greenspan, 2007)

Corruption has been a defining part of human history and has accelerated to the forefront of social issues in the modern era. With its newfound prevalence, perhaps one would be wise to assume that corruption is both omnipresent and everlasting. Nevertheless, should we reconsider the power dynamics of contemporary politics while cultivating a culture of honesty through education, the path to eliminating corruption entirely seems manifestable, though entrenched within the distant future.

However, before we look further into the future, we must first consider the present: Our world is not yet equipped to make dramatic reforms as sharp as those needed to eliminate corruption completely. So for now, as Greenspan suggests, humanity’s focus must persist on “keeping it to a minimum”.

Bibliography

Hedges, S. (2021, September 11). Human nature according to Socrates. Substack. https://eduthirdspace.substack.com/p/human-nature-according-to-socrates

More than $3trillion in illicit funds flowed through global financial system in 2023; banks call for more regulatory guidance to tackle endemic. (2024, January 16). AML Intelligence. https://www.amlintelligence.com/2024/01/latest-more-than-3trillion-in-illicit-funds- flowed-thru-global-financial-system-in-2023-banks-call-for-more-regulatory-guidance-to-tackle-endemic/

Mayne, T. (2022, July 4). What is kleptocracy and how does it work? Chatham House. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/07/what-kleptocracy-and-how-does-it-work

Ferdinand Marcos. (2024, October 19). Britannica.n https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-E-Marcos

Unexplained wealth of the Marcos family. (2024 October 30). Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexplained_wealth_of_the_Marcos_family

Watson, J. (2017, September 20). Behaviourism. Routledge.

McLeod, S. (2024, February 1). Behaviourism In Psychology. SimplyPsychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html

Greenspan, A. (2008, September 9). The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World. Penguin.