There are times when the scale and persistence of corruption appears so routine, so deeply embedded, that one is tempted to ask whether it has become part of our inheritance, something carried in our very genes, passed down in DNA. From petty bribery to high-level abuse of office, the pattern repeats with striking predictability.
It is in this context that insights from Behavioral Genetics raise an uncomfortable question. If traits such as greed and lack of empathy can be influenced by heredity, are we witnessing their cumulative effect across society? No one is born corrupt, yet the ease with which many slip into unethical practices and corruption is difficult to ignore.
The problem goes beyond individual failure. It lies in the normalization of conduct that should provoke moral resistance. When systems are manipulated, public resources siphoned off, and accountability evaded with ease, corruption ceases to be an aberration. In environments where such tendencies are neither checked nor corrected, they become embedded. Over time, this produces a disturbing impression that corruption is acceptable.
Consider how easily systems are bent. Rules exist, yet they are negotiated. Laws are framed, yet selectively applied. Positions of trust are occupied, yet routinely exploited. The frequency of such actions raises a troubling possibility. It is not only that corruption is learned. Many appear predisposed to it, ready to act when opportunity arises.
What deepens the concern is how comfortably this coexists within a predominantly religious society. Public expressions of faith, which ought to anchor ethical conduct, often stand alongside everyday corruption. Rituals are observed and declarations made, yet conduct remains unchanged. Faith, in itself, neither cleanses intent nor restrains impulse. Faith, reduced to ritual and identity, risks becoming a shield rather than a guide.
In such a climate, corruption begins to appear inevitable. It feels as though each generation is continuing what the previous one normalized. The language of outrage persists, but so does the practice. The consistency is such that it begins to feel almost genetic.
Fortunately, human beings are shaped, but not fixed. Research in Developmental Psychology shows that moral judgement is shaped through learning, environment, and reflection. If corruption can spread through systems and habits, so too can integrity.
The question, then, is not only whether corruption is in our genes, but whether we have allowed it to become part of our identity. Institutions that tolerate corruption, communities that excuse it, and individuals who benefit from it all contribute to its persistence. Changing this requires a deliberate effort to build conditions where ethical behaviour is expected and enforced.
For now, the evidence is difficult to ignore. Corruption persists with such regularity that it seems almost hereditary. Whether or not it resides in our genes, it has certainly found a way to live as if it does.
