Corruption is one of the most important—and misunderstood—concepts in contemporary American politics. Some examples are unambiguous: for instance, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez taking gold bars from foreign governments in exchange for policy favors. But corruption covers a wide range of behavior, far beyond kickbacks and bribery. I’ve spent my career studying how it shapes legal and political systems, and I’ve found that it’s rarely a single act or brazen deal; more often, it appears as a set of habits that spreads through society like a creeping disease.

For most of history, corruption has been known as the central, ongoing challenge of self-government. In Aristotle’s traditional formulation, it encompasses all selfish use of public power toward private ends. The American Founders worr

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