One Man’s Corruption

Is another man’s government administration. The abstract to a 1981 Annales article on clientage in the late Roman empire by Paul Veyne:

“In Fourth-century Rome, official posts were purchased from their holders. For officials, who were the equals of the curials and the ‘barons’ (as the ‘simple soldiers’ ought to be called), were landed rentiers, for whom administration was not a livelihood or a career but an additional dignity, or an occasional source of income or an insurance policy for the future.

“These notables absented themselves from their charge at will. Far from being the canker that gnawed away at the State from within clientelism was the State’s normal manner of operation. Corruption was far more than a simple abuse : the 4th-century administration was an original historical formation. The system was nothing short of a racket, exploiting the taxpayer and feeding off itself at every level. Like the kings of France, the Roman emperors, lacking a navy, used pirates and called them corsairs. This racket was not in competition with the State : it was the State, as in certain Central American countries today.”