But the scale of corruption is greater than ever before possible, as globalization allows moneyed, corrupt, and powerful players to pull up the ladder for entire countries. The Internet and modern transportation means you could move you in a day and your and entire stash in a moment - to whatever end of the earth you choose. It's a big planet. Not so easy for the fleeing nobles of the French Revolution.

And here in the States - and my home state of New York in particular - the line between corruption and expected business is very blurry. For example, lawmakers in Albany are allowed to make money on outside income, but what if that outside income relies on your legislation? Obviously that is corrupt (and has seen two prominent assemblymen convicted of felonies recently), but what if a lawmaker the next office over - a respected geologist - consults for fracking firms looking to drill in NY while working with other senators to get Governor Cuomo's fracking ban overturned? I'm sure many people would say yes, but what if instead that same lawmaker consulted environmental groups (for pay) about the risks and dangers of fracking while staunchly siding with Cuomo's moratorium? Is that also corrupt, even if we like that course of action more than the other?

Unfortunately, the more these things get brought to light, the more people call for transparency, and the powers that be work ever harder to obfuscate their actions. Even Barack Obama is guilty of this: he came into office promising the most transparent administration in US history, and has since set the record for classifications and federal charges under the Espionage Act (of 1917! As in, more than anyone else during the whole Cold War!).

Sorry to end on a bummer. I don't really know how to fix such a system from top to bottom.