Corruption – A Relationship of Dehumanization

Corruption is not an isolated incident, nor merely a moral slip-up. It is a relationship. Between the one who corrupts and the one who allows themselves to be corrupted, a silent understanding arises. Both parties lose something: one loses their integrity, the other their freedom. Together, they create a system of falsehood.

The corrupter often acts with calculation. They do not openly offer money but instead influence, belonging, advantages. They know how to create conditions that make saying “yes” easier. The corrupted, however, is not always malicious. Sometimes they are weary, resigned, or convinced that there is no other way. Thus, it begins: with small compromises that grow into silent dependencies.

Corruption is more than a criminal act. It is a cultural pattern. It thrives where greed is seen as cleverness, where power is detached from responsibility, where meaning is replaced by profit. It lives through silence, fear, and turning a blind eye. And it destroys what makes society vibrant: trust.

From the perspective of this project, corruption is not only an ethical problem but an existential one. For where people can be bought, they give themselves away. They become tools, losing their inner weight. The human, in this project, preserves their freedom by not selling themselves. They say no—not out of defiance, but out of dignity.

Corruption is the language of alienation. The project responds with sincerity. Where corruption binds, trust liberates. Where corruption subjugates, the project’s ideas place humans back at the center. And where others remain silent, the “no” begins as a breakthrough.

The freedom to say no is the root of incorruptibility. It is the beginning of a culture that does not live off usefulness but off meaning.