[seventytwo]

I’d argue that absent any regulations, there’s no such thing as corruption, just like without laws, nothing is criminal!

But is that the world we want?

The fact of the matter is that corruption, like crime, will always exist, so the system within which the corruption exists better be able to handle it, or it’s a poor system.

The author’s argument is basically the opposite - “the system is fine, it’s the pesky non-idealities that are the problem!”

My point is that this is a totally useless take. It’s like trying to build a rocket and wondering why it collapses on the launchpad because you hand waved away all the non-idealities: “oh, the rocket design was fine, it was those pesky non-idealities that we’re the problem!”