The Ending of Corruption; Boring Administrative History

We have a real example of a cultural change brought about by the pressures of war. 

 The great weapon of war against corruption is accounting and auditing.  But first attitudes must change. 

We see various forms of corruption becoming less and less tolerated, as by an unconscious process every form of corruption is tainted by association with the worst of them.

We’ve been covering the end of corruption in numerous episodes from  Shelburne to Pitt, with Burke, with Middleton’s efforts in the dockyards in the Chips Anyone? episode and then Jervis’s crazy attitudes in the naval episodes.

Now we’ll look at some of the specific mechanisms with which these forms of corruption are tackled.  There are crazy figures, for example the total value of unaudited accounts in 1807 is equal to the value of the entire national debt.

I identify three kinds of corruption.  First there is the kind that can’t ever go away, though controls and sunlight can reduce it greatly.  This I will name Fraud, where contracts are violated and/or payments are made without contracts at all, and where government funds are used for private purposes.  Then there is traditional corruption, of the sort when clerks accept tips to perform tasks outside their usual work.  3rd is official corruption, sinecures and emoluments wielded by government to secure votes, but also for other purposes.