Ethics
Transparency International published the Corruption Perceptions Index 2002,ranking 102 countries. For Venezuela, this CPI utilized ten differentpolls, reflecting the perceptions of country analysts and business people,both resident and non-resident. Venezuela was ranked 84, with a score of only 2.5 out of a clean score of 10.Corruption spreads like a disease through every sector of society. Sometimesunderpaid government employees often work maddeningly slowly unless bribemoney is given for them to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and get the job done quickly. At the other extreme, greedy business people andunscrupulous investors illegally pay millions to corrupt officials to gainfavours or win lucrative government contracts. They put their selfish gainbefore the welfare of citizens and the economic development of their countries.The Corruption Fighters' Tool Kit, is a compendium of practical civilsociety anti-corruption experiences described in concrete terms andaccessible language. It presents innovative anti-corruption tools developedand implemented around the world. Available online fromwww.transparency.org.The financial leaders of the rich countries who meet yearly in the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, were described by the world's leadingbusiness journal, The London Financial Times, as "the masters of theuniverse". The term is rather accurate because the group is not popularlyelected. They represent tremendous financial power, which for the most partdoes not benefit the common people. The decisions they make control your economy and your lives.Lack of EthicsIn 1995 the American Psychiatric Association published a study on criminalpsychology. The research report concluded that the most common factor amonghabitual offenders was the tendency to lie. This character defect they sharewith some of the richest and most powerful people on the planet! Politicalleaders lie to their citizens, corporation directors cheat on their accountsand tax statements, advertisers falsely exaggerate the benefits of their products, and the world's most sophisticated military forces of the UnitedStates have demonstrated the maxim that: "In war, truth is the firstcasualty".Traditional rules-based morality, expressed in terms of absolutes, isinadequate to the task of solving most moral questions in the relativeworld. If a de-ranged gunman is shooting innocent people, the Biblicalcommandment, "Thou shalt not kill" may not be relevant to the immediate needto stop him at any cost, in order to save other lives.Throughout history, most moral treatises have reflected the interests of therich and powerful. Each ruling class has exploited other classes throughforce and cunning, creating rules and justifications for those rules to suittheir interest. Human history is a chronicle of exclusion and power.
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