The word corruption comes from a Latin root meaning "destroy," especially in the sense of ruining principle, integrity, or virtue. I wrote about the theology and economics of corruption in the Judas lesson of my high school Apostles and Markets curriculum. I described corruption as betrayal of benefactors' trust, as when Judas betrayed our ultimate benefactor Jesus Christ. The New Institutional Economics uses agency theory, problems between principals and their agents, to analyze corruption. Copying someone else's homework is often described as cheating. My lesson stresses that cheating is also a violation of an implied contractual agreement between student and teacher, between student and parents, and between student and school reputation.
One of my favorite depictions of corruption in film is the 1962 Japanese movie, Harakiri. This three minute trailer summaries the story line well and suggests how ugly is the hypocrisy of corruption in medieval Japan. The film builds tension by slowly revealing the story of a young samurai too poor to own real swords. His money-raising scam was to threaten clans with committing seppuku unless given money to leave. One clan calls his bluff and the poor man is forced to follow through with the ceremony. The rest of the story unveils how the young samurai's father extracts revenge on this clan by systematically challenging and defeating its top swordsmen. Tatsuya Nakadai, my favorite Japanese film star, plays the father.
The duel between the father and the clan's number one swordsman on the plains of Edo is unforgettable. The wind howls, the tall grass whips wildly as the samurai face each other. After the battle, and the father's work of exposing the clan's hypocrisy and cruelty is complete, the clan survivors try to cover up. There is a final scene that captures evil's desire to remain hidden, or at least to appear ordinary, normal. The stone pathways and gardens are raked smooth again, hiding the battle that took place there only moments ago.
And this just in! I found a really good review of Harakiri on YouTube here. The author has a brilliant blog called Constantine in Tokyo. Her reviews are outstanding. Treat yourself to a visit!
Thanks for the comment on my blog! I agree with your view of Harakiri. As the Iyi clan attempts to preserve the legitimacy of their clan in the face of the samurai's growing irrelevancy within Tokugawa Japan (at least as warriors), they become increasing hypocritical and ultimately corrupt their principles. When Nakadai Tatsuya's character throws the top knots of the Iyi clan's best samurai on ground, he reveals just how much this hypocrisy has weakened them. More than the final sword fight, I consider this moment to be the climax of the film. While the Iyi clan does not necessarily represent pure evil, I think it's a good example of the destructive effects of uncompromising, fanatical adherence to ideology.
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