September 30, 2005

Dear Colleague,

        One of the saddest and longest tales of humankind is corruption. Once a man or a woman has power, its misuse--not so much through ignorance as through calculation--seems inevitable. It occurs at every level of society. Our own great university is not exempt. Sewer odors from the highest levels of administration emerge despite efforts to cover them up with the fine embroidery of legalese. Time magazine, not what you would call a radical rag, has a special feature in its current issue on cronyism and corruption in the Bush administration. China has a booming economy. How long it will last depends not only on external factors such as the availability of oil, but even more on the ability of the government to ward off corruption until it collapses on its own, with barely the need for an unfriendly, external push. In the extent and degree of corruption, it's hard to know who, what country or continent, merits the top billing. Africa is as good a candidate as any A report prepared for the African Union in 2002 estimated that corruption cost Africa $148 billion annually--more than a quarter of the continent's entire domestic product.

         Martin Meredith's The Fate of Africa tells a most depressing story. Indeed, its subtitle is: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair: A History of 50 Years of Independence. OK, OK, I know Africa's sorry condition is mostly the fault of colonialism and neo-colonialism. Mostly, but not all. For to say all, indeed even to say mostly, is to victimize Africans, treating them as mere checkers in someone else's game. Suppose one refuses to be a checker? Suppose one claims agency for oneself, including the greatest expression of that agency, which is to say no to evil--no to corruption? Meredith gives two examples of this power to say no. Two heroes. One is Seretse Khama, leader of Botswana, one of the poorest countries in Africa. Shortly after independence in 1966, rich seams of diamond were discovered. Now, one can imagine Seretse--I can imagine myself!--building a palace modeled after Versailles and a designer throne encrusted with diamonds. But no. Seretse departed from the natural and the obvious. He used this resource wisely to improve the country's infrastructure, particularly in health and education. Per capita income rose to $900 in 1980 and to $1700 only a few years later. Botswana became a multi-party democracy and corruption hardly existed.

         The other hero is, of course, Nelson Mandela. How to rise above corruption? Helpful, it would seem, is a mixture of pride and humility. An aristocrat, Mandela knew affluence and influence, if not wealth and power. He didn't find them especially tempting. It would be beneath him to act ignobly. As for humility, he minimized his own role in government. "Many of my colleagues are head and shoulders above me in almost every respect. Rather than being an asset, I'm more of a decoration." He kept the prospect of retirement firmly in view. "I am nearing my end," he told Afrikaner students. "I want to be able to sleep till eternity with a broad smile on my face, knowing that the youth, opinion-makers and everybody is stretching across the divide, trying to unite the nation" (op.cit., p. 664).

         How is this for a Great Man Theory of history? I shouldn't be urging it. But if with tenure, one can be daring, with retirement and old age, one can be outrageous!

Best wishes,

Yi-Fu