Cynicism is deeply bound up with human ideas of practicality and in many ways feeds off our insular view of our ‘living conditions, in the widest possible meaning of that phrase. So when someone says all politicians are corrupt they are referencing not only the history of political careers and how corrupt so very may have been, but also their own selves. This is the manner of being human, sexual and fiscal corruption at almost every level from the individual saving themselves a few pennies off a tax bill to a billionaire buying a politician.
The reasons for this art in corruption are not very complex. They stem from the individuals need to stay in command which is why it is not relegated only to the male gender. Commanding the uncertain is one of the most difficult intellectual activities and millions of people making millions of decisions every second makes it impossible to command them all so you have to resolve to command the system under which they all live.
Its done with money, sex and social status in more mature societies, and with the gun in less mature ones. Corruption starts with the very nature of what a human being is; an animal trying to be intellectual. We can give all sorts of reasons for being better than anyone else; even when we bow to the ground we don’t do so because we feel less but because we are afraid.
As North Africa is finding out, corruption has its limits.