Kleptocracy
From Free net encyclopedia
Kleptocracy (sometimes Cleptocracy) (root: Klepto+cracy = rule by thieves) is a pejorative, informal term for a government so corrupt that no pretense of honesty remains. In a kleptocracy the mechanisms of government are devoted to taxing the public at large, or using their control of government processes in order to amass substantial personal fortunes for the rulers and their cronies (collectively, kleptocrats), or to keep said rulers in power through redistribution schemes. Kleptocrats typically use money laundering and/or anonymous banking to protect and conceal their personal illegal gains.
Kleptocracies are by and large dictatorships or some other form of autocratic government, since democracy makes outright thievery for direct personal gain more difficult to sustain long term and still remain in power. States that operate consistently at the higher end of the kleptocratic scale tend to be politically and socially unstable, while being stably kleptocratic.
The economies of kleptocracies tend to perform badly, as the systematic corruption engendered by kleptocratic governance means that the economy is subordinated to the interests of the kleptocrats. Kleptocrats believe they have more to gain from taking a large share of a stable or shrinking pie than from a shrinking share of an increasing pie. Distributive states that derive their wealth from the extraction of natural resources (eg. diamonds and oil in a few prominent cases) can be particularly prone to kleptocracy, as the kleptocrats simply tax the Ricardian rent. Redistristributive economies that derive their wealth through taxation have a natural limitation on how far they can extend the kleptocratic policies on their population without destabilizing their government.
The creation of a kleptocracy typically results in many years of general hardship and suffering for the vast majority of citizens as civil society and the rule of law distintegrates. In addition, kleptocrats routinely ignore economic and social problems in their quest to amass ever more wealth and power. As kleptocrats do not attempt to build or maintain functioning states, or even maintain large security forces for fear of coups d'état, kleptocracies are generally incompetent in the face of social crises, and often collapse into prolonged civil war and anarchy.
Some observers use the term 'kleptocracy' to disparage political processes which 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. A more accurate term for this influence over a state is plutocracy.
Transparency International ranking
In early 2004, the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International released a list of what it believes to be the ten most self-enriching leaders in recent years.
In order of amount allegedly stolen (in USD), they are:
- former Indonesian President Suharto ($15 billion – $35 billion)
- former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos ($5 billion – $10 billion)
- former Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko ($5 billion)
- former Nigerian President Sani Abacha ($2 billion – $5 billion)
- former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević ($1 billion)
- former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier ($300 million – $800 million)
- former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori ($600 million)
- former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko ($114 million – $200 million)
- former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán ($100 million)
- former Philippine President Joseph Estrada ($78 million – $80 million)
Kleptocracy in fiction
In 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", and Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
See also
et:Kleptokraatia el:Κλεπτοκρατία es:Cleptocracia fr:Kleptocratie it:Cleptocrazia lb:Kleptokratie nl:Kleptocratie nn:Kleptokrati pl:Kleptokracja fi:Kleptokratia sv:Kleptokrati pt:Cleptocracia