\u201cCorruption hurts everyone, and it harms poor people the most.\u201d That basic principle underlies the work of Transparency International<\/a> [TI], the Berlin-based international group whose mission is nothing less than helping to create a world free of corruption.<\/p>\n Founded in 1993, TI has evolved into a global network with more than 90 chapters. The idealism of the organization is impressive, given the news we read daily about bribery, kickbacks and greed and fraud in countries all over the world. But even as it acknowledges that environment, TI persists in challenging the inevitability of corruption. Politically non-partisan, TI does not itself conduct investigations of alleged corruption or expose individual cases, but it…<\/p>\n bring[s] together relevant players from government, civil society, business and the media to promote transparency in elections, in public administration, in procurements and in business. TI\u2019s global network of chapters and contacts also use advocacy campaigns to lobby governments to implement anti-corruption reforms.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Straight talk about corruption<\/strong><\/p>\n TI defines corruption as \u201cthe abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.\u201d<\/p>\n That definition incorporates virtually everyone. But it\u2019s especially relevant to poor people, whose daily scramble to survive depends greatly on local, regional and national governments, and on aid organizations. In fact, says TI, corruption is both a cause of poverty, and one of the biggest barriers to overcoming it.<\/p>\n Most Americans would probably claim personal innocence from political corruption. Sure, we acknowledge that it exists, but we often cynically dismiss corruption-fighting as a battle against the worst of human nature. Mostly, we see corruption as an abstract concept that applies to others, and we easily dismiss it as irrelevant to our daily lives and more pertinent to Jack-Abramoff-type lobbyists and politicians who hide shoeboxes full of cash payoffs in their closets. Of course, we\u2019re kidding ourselves. Corruption is everywhere in many forms\u2014both obvious and subtle. And for many people around the world, corruption is a daily routine\u2014one that limits their lives in many ways.<\/p>\n Transparency International makes the realities of corruption very vivid, describing impacts both small and large:<\/p>\n At other times, corruption\u2019s impact is less visible, says TI:<\/p>\n Measuring corruption<\/strong><\/p>\n So, how corrupt is our world? That\u2019s a question that Transparency International continues to try to answer, using several \u201ccorruption measurement tools.\u201d Among these are:<\/p>\n The Corruption Perc<\/a><\/a>eptions Index [CPI<\/a>], which measures the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 180 countries and territories around the world. The most recent CPI, released in 2009, ranks Somalia and Afghanistan as the countries perceived as most corrupt, while New Zealand and Denmark\u00a0are\u00a0perceived as least corrupt. On the CPI scale of 0-10, with 10 being the lowest<\/span> level of perceived corruption, the US gets a 7.5, compared to New Zealand\u2019s 9.4 and Denmark\u2019s 9.3. The vast majority of the 180 countries in the 2009 CPI score below 5.<\/p>\n TI observes that countries perceived as the most corrupt tend to be those that have been torn apart by wars and internal strife.<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n