Corruption includes a wide range of practices – among them, bribery, embezzlement,
nepotism, favoritism, bending of rules, and suspect gifts or commissions – that seen from a
Western perspective cross relatively clear and agreed boundaries between the public and the
private. But while such practices are often erroneously lumped together under the single
term “corruption”, in practice they vary considerably both across and within societies in
their origins and social significance. All are rooted in the contexts in which they occur;
many – leaving aside outright theft and exploitation by powerful officials – embody
evolved ways of getting things done, and of resolving imbalances between the public and
private domains, within the societal constructs of that particular society. Helping one’s kin,
for instance, is accepted in many societies as long as public positions are not used to do so;
but when the family–friendship sphere is dominant and the state is remote, different kinds
of balance can emerge – and with them, different systems of norms [45]. Indeed, in some
societies an official may be seen as socially deficient if he or she does not use official
resources to aid the folks back home.