Trust, once broken, leaves deep societal scars—especially when that rupture stems from political corruption in systems where ethics are publicly exalted yet privately betrayed, drawing on principles from social psychology, Sara Berbel Sánchez outlines a framework for eradicating corruption that transcends lamentation and centres on collective ethical reconstruction, she emphasizes the power of injunctive norms—statements about what ought to be done—to guide behaviour more effectively than mere descriptive norms about what is commonly done, as seen in New Zealand, where public service ethics are codified, reinforced and tied to real consequences, enabling low corruption levels, in stark contrast, Italy’s Tangentopoli era epitomised how social normalization of corruption, captured by the motto così fan tutti (everyone does it), corrodes ethical boundaries and institutional trust, Berbel advocates for scientific and ethical selection criteria in leadership recruitment, incorporating psychological screening to detect traits like narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, which correlate with destructive decision-making, she warns against the promotion of such profiles in authoritarian populist systems, highlighting Finland as a model, where public officials are selected for prosocial traits and institutional transparency, organisational cultures must also dismantle cynical mindsets such as “everyone’s corrupt,” replacing them with massive prosocial campaigns and the development of ethical premortems—anticipating and debunking justifications for wrongdoing before it occurs, cases like Ruanda, Iceland, and Hong Kong’s ICAC demonstrate that sustained, transparent systems of accountability, protection for whistleblowers and exemplary sanctions can reshape public perceptions and reduce impunity, Berbel asserts that corruption thrives not just through explicit action but through silent tolerance and weakened norms, hence it must be addressed structurally, ethically, and narratively, with persistent political will and public involvement, otherwise, the damage becomes entrenched, the antidote, she argues, lies in ethical leadership, narrative clarity, and civic engagement—because, as Plato warned, “the price of disengaging from politics is to be governed by the worst.”
Berbel Sánchez, S. (2025) ‘Propuestas de la psicología social contra la corrupción’, El País, 18 August.
