On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake - Political Analysis Book on Government Ethics & Democracy Crisis | Perfect for Political Science Students & Civic Activists

I knew little about corruption in the United States before this book, but Sarah Chayes’ writing has sparked a passion in me.The Prologue, first 3 chapters, and Epilogue were some of the most insightful for me, but the historical explorations of how Sarah says we got to now give important context as well.The Prologue highlights the case of McDonnell v. United States. McDonnell was the governor of Virginia and a common sense interpretation of the facts is that he used his office to assist the CEO of a tobacco company in arranging clinical trials for a “dietary supplement”, and he received gifts and loans totaling over $175,000 in addition to vacations and other luxuries. He was convicted in 2014 by a jury of his peers, the U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the ruling, and in June 2016, the Supreme court unanimously overturned the ruling. I read some of the case notes out of curiosity (see Scotusblog for a brief overview) and the argument seemed to be about hemming over what an “official act” is. It essentially narrows down what counts as corruption. The justices fretted over criminalizing politics as it is done today. And yet if a judge did what McDonnell did, he would be in jail. Pundits were unanimous too. That decision directly led to Senator Menendez escaping his own conviction of bribery in 2018, and only recently in 2024 was he convicted of bribery for providing sensitive information to Egypt.The first 3 chapters were a useful lens to consider questions of culture. What do you think will happen in a society that prioritizes wealth maximization? It was a refresher on an idea I came across years ago from economist Michael Munger “the Road to Crony Capitalism”. And the sections on the Gilded Age and the decades long efforts to move away from idolizing greed served as important historical context. The U.S. reigned in corporate excesses before…it’s possible to do it again. It just might take a shared calamity to do it.The epilogue was not a checklist of solutions, but more of a brainstorm. I think the author is right that such a pervasive problem cannot be solved by individuals - it will take everyone. As a teacher, I intend to work some parts of this book into my classes (do we live in service of the economy or should the economy be in service of us?). And I think organizations like Wolf-PAC or RepresentUs can help fight corruption. I invite you to start somewhere. And if you’re not sure where to start, start with this book!