Corruption Through the Ages : A Historical and Philosophical Genealogy of Betrayed Norms

Abstract Historical and philosophical genealogy of corruption from ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary West, analyzed as transhistorical subversion of politics’ constitutive norms (distributive justice, impartiality, beyond-market goods). Each configuration (Mesopotamian edicts, Greek pléonexia, Jerusalem Temple, capitalist capture) reveals tension between common good aspiration and public/sacred functions privatization. Conclusion: normative vigilance facing algorithmic corruptions. Keywords corruption, historical genealogy, betrayed norms, common good, Mesopotamia, classical Greece, Jerusalem Temple, capitalism, pléonexia, mīšarum, governance, institutional capture, normative vigilance, distributive justice, algorithmic