No – but I think everyone has an agenda. It just so happens that your agenda aligns with theirs on occasion so you view them as benign.

Even altruism has a selfish component to it (improving a battered sense of self worth, perhaps).

No, everyone is not corrupt.
Everyone makes mistakes, though. And it depends on opinion, too. If I steal bread, it might be because my family is starving. So it’s not a crime to me, but it is to other people.

I think corruption has a certain link to power.

Rather than professing that everybody is corrupt, I would be more inclined to agree that everybody has the potential to be corrupt.

I agree with @cprevite that everyone has an agenda. Especially where survival is concerned, people are prone to lie or steal in order to live longer and procreate.

Currupt is a really strong word for stealing office stationary.

@mowens Depends where you work.

No human is perfect. But corruption is a serious charge and very unethical behavior. I don’t think everyone of the 6,692,030,277 people living on Earth this very minute is corrupt. My estimate would be about 25% on average depending on country and culture and life situations.

@mattbrowne And how many would you guess are potentially corrupt?

All people is corrupted should be “all people are corrupt.”

And, yes, to some degree. But there is yin in every yang – there are no absolutes.

Right?

If doing “something illegal once or twice in their lives” is the definition of being corrupt, yes. Everyone is corrupt.

But if you really mean corrupt as defined in a dictionary (Example: 1 a : to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions; also : bribe b : to degrade with unsound principles or moral values), then no. I think a small amount of people are corrupt.

Corrupt is a bit strong of a word. But sure.. nobody is perfect.

@mattbrowne
Where did you get that number? O_o
Methinks any head count of all the people of the world would be obsolete a second after you’ve started counting…

@jfos – Good question. More than 50% I think. Given a tempting situation more people might toy with the idea. But then they don’t want to get in trouble. Or they know they would have regrets later. If you got little to lose the temptation is much higher. For example in Afghanistan right now. And in many African countries. Check this out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Corruption_Perceptions_Index

And the winner is Denmark. And the loser is Somalia.

IF @mattbrowne SAYS IT’S 6,692,030,277 – THEN THAT’S HOW MANY PEOPLE THERE ARE. Or I’l get Chuck Norris to kick your ass.

@mattbrowne How do you mean “in Afghanistan right now” to be an example?

@Fyrius – I googled it. Did so again and saw I used a 2008 link. Sorry, here’s a better estimate for right this minute: 6,799,746,383

http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

I check Fluther’s competition. About 3–4 babies are born per second. So you are absolutely correct. The total number gets outdated while typing.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_babies_are_born_each_second

@Zen_Again – I messed it up. Shame on me. As I said no human is perfect. Will you forgive me?

@jfos – The country’s in turmoil. Even the “good” guys seem corrupt, including Karsai.

See the list of countries. Only 4 countries are worse than Afghanistan:

Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar and Somalia.

If it is corrupt to take the last piece of pie, then I am guilty. However, I didn’t eat the last cookie, so that makes up for it, right?

Well, everyone could be corrupted
Except Batman

@mattbrowne I hate to keep nitpicking, but on what characteristics is “worse“ness rated? And I agree that the “good” guys seem corrupt.

@PretentiousArtist and Rorschach!

“Law” is a bit of a misnomer. That’s why everyone “breaks” them in some small way, because man made laws just aren’t reflective of all that is true and just and right. Real laws cannot be broken. Fake laws that get in the way of truth and rightness and justice sometimes need to be dodged.

@mattbrowne My default is not only to forgive you in advance, but rather to worship the ground you walk on.

Lurve.

;-)

Do all the newbies here know what an accomplished writer we have here on fluther – check this out: http://www.meet-matt-browne.com/

@PretentiousArtist @Sarcasm and Brian Boitano !

@Zen_Again , cool, one day maybe I will get a link for being an accomplished writer, heh.

Everyone certainly does something they consider immoral sometimes. I do not think that means “everybody is corrupt” though. Just we are all sometimes weak.

Pretty much, yes.

The definition of corrupt as it pertains to people, as an adjective, is “guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery; lacking integrity; crooked: a corrupt judge.”

Obviously most people are not corrupt.

One of the ongoing shortcomings of Fluther questions and answers is an imprecise use of language. Since written language is the only way we communicate here (without visual or aural clues) it is important that we do not corrupt it (verb-to alter (a language, text, etc.) for the worse; debase.)

I used to live in a world where noone was corrupt and everything was fab.

Unfortunately I’ve grown up and everything isn’t that great. I hate that.

@ModernEpicurian , your answer reminded me of a song,“When We Was Fab” by George Harrison. Here are the lyrics:

Back then long time ago when grass was green
Woke up in a daze
Arrived like stangers in the night
Fab – long time ago when we was fab
Fab – back when income tax was all we had

Caresses fleeced you in the morning light
Casualties at dawn
And we did it all
Fab – long time ago when we was fab
Fab – you are my world you are my only love

And while you’re in this world
The fuzz gonna come and claim you
But you no better wise
When the buzz gonna come and take you away
Take you away
Take you away

The microscopes that magnified the tears
Studied warts and all
Still the life flows on and on
Fab – long time ago when we was fab
Fab – but It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
Fab – long time ago when we was fab
Fab – like this pullover you sent to me

Fab
And You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me
fab – long time ago when we was fab

@ModernEpicurian Life is what you make it. If Christmas is diminished because you don’t believe in Santa any more, that’s on you. I found that being Santa is much better than believing in him. If you want to get satisfaction and happiness, try being rather than believing.

Children aren’t

@mattbrowne
“Given a tempting situation more people might toy with the idea.”
So it seems. :P

Yes, the degree of corruption is what varies from person to person though.
No one is pure.

Completely depends on how you define “corrupt” and I’m not sure how you’ve defined it here.

@Syger It is not a matter of being corrupt or never breaking a rule. Being corrupt as per the definition, is about acting in a financially dishones manner, not fulfilling ones sworn duties or a lack of integrity. I can say quite honestly that I have never committed a corrupt act. I have been known to jaywalk, drive w/o a seatbelt and made up an excuse to turn down an invitation-none of which can be even remotely be considered corrupt.

Everybody’s got a little hole in the middle and everybody does a little dance with the devil

@Darwin: I would be the one who took the last cookie.

@Simone: Perhaps not “corupt”, but children can be cruel; even vicious.

Corrupt is a word I would never apply to myself but others might!! Just kidding, I’m too chicken to do anything too illegal. I’m even one of the canadians who would turn in the wallet with the cash intact- Reader’s Digest experiment some years ago.

No, I’m a pretty trusting person. Certainly many people are corrupt but not everyone.

I can’t say that everybody is corrupt, but I can say every person holding some kind of position in the local and national government is.

Using @antimatter‘s definition of corrupt, then I think all people are, regardless of age.
Especially using his 2 examples as a model. I must admit I have paper clips in my possession that I pinched from a job I had probably 30 years ago (I don’t use many paper clips in my day to day life – I use staples instead).

With regard to the tax situation, I stand on the 5th amendment.

My Mac dictionary defines corrupt as Evil or morally depraved. From that perspective, then I think no, probably most people are not corrupt.

@galileogirl Even with that definition; no one is pure. Again; it’s just to a different degree.
Ever get paid for an extra hour of work or receive more change than you were suppose to but never brought it to attention and had it corrected?

“Ever get paid for an extra hour of work or receive more change than you were suppose to but never brought it to attention and had it corrected?”

Actually, no. Does that make me strange? Or is it more common than we all believe?

No, I think most everyone is in it for there own self-interest. I love meeting people that aren’t. It seem the ones who are truly effective are the ones who are gracious without expectation.

If we define corruption as deliberately doing something to make an unfair gain at someone else’s expense then I think nearly everyone is guilty at one time or another. It is interesting to consider the motivations people have in doing this.

Some may just give into temptation.

Then there are cases where you can be corrupt passively. If you pay for something and are given too much change back then it takes an act of will to correct the situation.

Some may take the attitude that others do it so why not do it yourself.

In some cases a person may see acting corruptly as being necessary in order to maintain status quo. For example, an athlete may feel that it is necessary to take steroids in order to remain competitive because it is perceived that others are doing it.

@jfos – It’s all in the articles I linked to:

“Transparency International has published an annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ordering the countries of the world according to “the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians”. The organization defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.

@Syger Sorry to raise your opinion of people, but no I haven’t. In fact I have told a cashier that I thought she gave me too much change and she proved me wrong. As for not being pure, the only person who would think that of me is Sister Mary Ruth and that was for thoughts, not actions lol

People are people and there’s always going to be a balance of good and bad in them.
I just think you’re focusing too much on the “corrupted” side of humanity and turning a blind-eye to its better part.

Or, in this case, the magazine is focusing on the bad parts. Are you really gonna trust a magazine, of all things?