In this interview with the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and the Humanities at Bard College, Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout weighs in on the current age of corruption.
Roger Berkowitz: Ivan Krastev rightly focuses on Trump’s blatant corruption and asks: why does nobody seem to care? Last week, I offered one answer grounded in the rage against hypocrisy. Corruption that once disqualified a politician is now overlooked — or even admired — so long as it is without pretense and when it is perceived to be the privilege of real and raw power.
At a moment when trust in liberal institutions is collapsing, Americans are willing to accept open corruption so long as that corruption is seen to be in the service of power. In an age when trust in institutions has crumbled, and corruption is no longer disqualifying, we need to ask: what do we really mean by corruption — and why does it no longer scandalize?
I asked Zephyr Teachout, Professor of Law at Fordham Law School and author of Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United, to weigh in on the current age of corruption. Zephyr has been a frequent guest at the Hannah Arendt Center, including speaking at our 2017 Conference, “Crises of Democracy.” First of all, Zephyr, good to talk to you. Can you tell me — what is corruption?
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