[hunglee2]

Incidentally, Scott Morrison, the former PM who scuttled the French deal in favour of AUKUS - which costs the Australian tax payer 380 billion - is now on the board of at least one US defence think tank and I think at least another military manufacturer.

[wannes]

Lack of integrity kills everything. This is one "resource" you start with, that you can only lose. There is no gain. Some people lost it all before they can understand what integrity is.

[bamboozled]

It’s Democracy at it’s finest.

[duxup]

I think it's just "humanity" and self interest, not sure any given government form is immune to such things.

Historically when I see folks rise up to stop such things, they just mean get their own piece of the pie, or all of it. Humanity is very good at "problem solved, because it is ok when i do it".

[H8crilA]

This was a lot worse in the Soviet Union. The level of inequality there is hard to comprehend, where your personal essentials such as freedom to move or being able to defend yourself from violence highly depended on your "wealth", that is your standing in the "nomenklatura". Not to even mention actual wealth, like having a car or real estate.

[orwin]

And it's not like it wasn't exactly the same under monarchy. Even with a straight arrow like Guizot (the straightest arrow of any French government ever probably) as a prime minister, corruption seep deep once people in power can stay in power for as long as they wish.

[erie]

'Australia pays $830m penalty for ditching non-nuclear French submarines'