49+ Best Corruption Quotes: Exclusive Selection

Profoundly inspirational corruption quotes will encourage you to think a little deeper than you usually would and broaden your perspective.

Famous Corruption Quotes

To oppose corruption in government is the highest obligation of patriotism. G. Edward Griffin

If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

You don’t necessarily need atomic bombs to destroy a nation. Politicians who value their pockets than the life of citizens always do that every day. Israelmore Ayivor

Corruption is the enemy of development, and of good governance. It must be got rid of. Both the government and the people at large must come together to achieve this national objective. Pratibha Patil

Pick a leader who is strong and confident, yet humble. Intelligent, but not sly. A leader who encourages diversity, not racism. One who understands the needs of the farmer, the teacher, the welder, the doctor, and the environmentalist  not only the banker, the oil tycoon, the weapons developer, or the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyist. Suzy Kassem

Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation. Atifete Jahjaga

As long as politics is the shadow of big business, the attenuation of the shadow will not change the substance. John Dewey

Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-tight national budgets, crowding out important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away investments and jobs. Joe Biden

To survive in a corrupt country, you need to be the son of a king or be king yourself. Bangambiki Habyarimana

We’ve seen over time that countries that have the best economic growth are those that have good governance, and good governance comes from freedom of communication. It comes from ending corruption. It comes from a populace that can go online and say, This politician is corrupt, this administrator, or this public official is corrupt. Ramez Naam

Look at the orators in our republics as long as they are poor, both state and people can only praise their uprightness; but once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy. Aristophanes

One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering I do not say that other countries are free from it, but I think our condition is much worse is bribery and corruption. That really is a poison. Muhammad Ali Jinnah

And the so called political process is a fraud Our elected officials, like our bureaucratic functionaries, like even our judges, are largely the indentured servants of the commercial interests. Edward Abbey

Women deeply want men who are competent and powerful. And I don’t mean power in that they can exert tyrannical control over others. That’s not power. That’s just corruption. Jordan Peterson

A corrupt leader is leading you only because there are more corrupted people to vote for him. Wangnao

Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we’re tired of hearing promises that we know they’ll never keep. Ray Davies

When self interest supersedes public service, society collapses under the weight of corruption. Ken Poirot

Corruption, embezzlement, fraud, these are all characteristics which exist everywhere. It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not. What successful economies do is keep it to a minimum. No one has ever eliminated any of that stuff. Alan Greenspan

The terrorist in my life is the corrupt government. Steven Magee

I weep for the liberty of my country when I see at this early day of its successful experiment that corruption has been imputed to many members of the House of Representatives, and the rights of the people have been bartered for promises of office. Andrew Jackson

Governance is corrupted by politicians aspiring to become celebrities and celebrities assuming credence in governing. H. Melvin James

A vibrant civil society can challenge those in power by documenting corruption or uncovering activities like the murder of political enemies. In democracies, this function is mostly performed by the media, NGOs or opposition parties. Evgeny Morozov

A just law is crafted with thoughtful communication and factual debate, a corrupt one is forged to limit such things. C.A.A. Savastano

Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence. Thomas Jefferson

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. Friedrich Nietzsche

Dictators cause the world’s worst problems all the collapsed states, and all the devastated economies. All the vapid cases of corruption, grand theft, and naked plunder of the treasury are caused by dictators, leaving in their wake trails of wanton destruction, horrendous carnage and human debris. George Ayittey

When two brothers are busy fighting, an evil man can easily attack and rob their poor mother. Mankind should always stay united, standing shoulder to shoulder so evil can never cheat and divide them. Suzy Kassem

If you look at great human civilizations, from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union, you will see that most do not fail simply due to external threats but because of internal weakness, corruption, or a failure to manifest the values and ideals they espouse. Cory Booker

Procrastination is also a subtle act of corruption it corrupts valuable time. Dr. Amit Abraham

Corruption is a huge problem and the poor and the powerless are often its most egregious victims. But it is not an accident that the most effective bureaucracies in the world rely much more on internal controls rather than on independent ombudsmen. Abhijit Banerjee

He did not care for the lying at first. He hated it. Then later he had come to like it. It was part of being an insider but it was a very corrupting business. Ernest Hemingway

This world is very good as if we do good deeds then we will get its fruits. World is bitter for those who are live their life with corruption or sins. Rahman Baba

Here is a man whose life and actions the world has already condemned yet whose enormous fortune has already brought him acquittal!  Marcus Tullius Cicero

In all cities, the better classes – the business men – are the sources of corruption, but they are so rarely pursued and caught that we do not fully realize whence the trouble comes. Lincoln Steffens

Only the man who wishes to be corrupted will fall into evil ways. Tamora Pierce

In the divine milieu, all the elements of the universe touch each other by that which is most inward and ultimate in them. There they concentrate, little by little, all that is purest and most attractive in them without loss and without danger of subsequent corruption. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The hand that pockets the corrupt coin places it in the collection plate seeking absolution. Stewart Stafford

We must uphold the fighting of tigers and flies at the same time, resolutely investigating law breaking cases of leading officials and also earnestly resolving the unhealthy tendencies and corruption problems which happen all around people. Xi Jinping

There are still those of us who work to overcome corruption and believe it to be possible. Padmé Amidala

The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity. Frank Serpico

Without strong watchdog institutions, impunity becomes the very foundation upon which systems of corruption are built. And if impunity is not demolished, all efforts to bring an end to corruption are in vain. Rigoberta Menchú

Wildlife crime goes well beyond just a threat to endangered species but also has impacts on our society, economy and security. It undermines efforts to uphold the rule of law, acts as an agent for corruption, creates a barrier to development and fuels global instability. David Lidington

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. Friedrich Nietzsche

There is a lurking sense that there is a kind of seedy corruption underlying a lot of public life today. But while journalism does a very good job of describing that corruption, it is failing to bring it into a bigger focus. To explain what it is all about. Adam Curtis

It is the duty of youths to war against indiscipline and corruption because they are the leaders of tomorrow. Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

Fifa has lost the trust of the people. We cannot allow the architects and controllers of world football to get away with dragging the beautiful game through the grime of corruption and bribery. Sol Campbell

Corruption ultimately guilts the corrupt, and it hardens the innocent who suffer as a result of it. It isn’t the young who corrupt the old, rather it’s the inverse. The aim of the old should be to ensure that the young grow up incorruptible. Justin K. McFarlane Beau

There are two things in Indian history one is the incredible optimism and potential of the place, and the other is the betrayal of that potential for example, corruption. Those two strands intertwine through the whole of Indian history, and maybe not just Indian history. Salman Rushdie