The End Of Swag?(bribery)

Newsweek International, July, 2002 by Theil, Stefan; Thomas, Rich

Baksheesh. Kiti Kodogo. Swag. Most every language has its vaguely derogatory slang term for bribery. The King James Bible predicted long ago that the "the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery." It didn't say when. Whether delivered in a bag, a brown wrapper or a red envelope, bribery has been accepted for centuries as part of the lamentable human condition. Cultures that outlawed paying bribes did so only at home, while allowing or even encouraging the habit abroad. The puritanical exception was the United States, which banned the "corrupt practice" of bribing foreigners in foreign lands as early as 1977 and has been trying to get the rest of the rich world to pass similar rules of law ever since. Now this...

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