POCKET PARADIGMS

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CULTURE OF IMPUNITY

IN A CULTURE OF IMPUNITY, rules serve the internal logic of the powerful
rather than whatever values typically guide a country, such as those of
its constitution, church or tradition. The culture of impunity
encourages coups and cruelty, and at best practices only titular
democracy. A culture of impunity varies from ordinary political
corruption in that the latter represents deviance from the culture while
the former becomes the culture. Such a culture does not announce itself.

In a culture of impunity, what replaces constitution, precedent, values,
tradition, fairness, consensus, debate and all that sort of arcane
stuff? Mainly greed. We find ourselves without heroism, without debate
over right and wrong, with little but an endless narcissistic struggle
by the powerful to get more money, more power, and more press than the
next person. In the chase, anything goes and the only standard is
whether you win, lose, or get caught. -Sam Smith

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