What’s wrong with bribery?

Throwing Down the Gauntlet:

Let’s pose the question plainly and unapologetically:

What, exactly, is wrong with bribery?

Before the chorus of moral outrage begins, let’s take a step back and examine the foundations of our ethical reasoning. For this, we turn to Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative, which, loosely translated, holds that an act is morally acceptable only if it could be universally applied without exception. In Kant’s words: “Act only according to the maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.”

So let’s test bribery against this principle.

Suppose we accept that everyone, at all times, under all conditions, is free to bribe.
If we’re truly comfortable with that universalization, then, by Kantian logic, bribery is morally permissible. And yet, society recoils. Why?

Because bribery violates something deeper than legality. It undermines the very scaffolding of fairness, integrity, and equality.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: many systems already operate on a form of legalized bribery, just dressed in more palatable language.

Take the justice system. The notion that all are equal before the law is a comforting fiction. In reality, access to high-powered legal defense is a function of wealth. Those with deep pockets do not face accusations of immorality for leveraging elite counsel. And those without? They often face harsher outcomes, not because they are less innocent, but because they are less resourced.

No moral indignation is hurled at this imbalance. No sweeping government crackdown. Yet offer a bribe, and the machinery of law and public opinion springs into action.

This contradiction exposes a broader hypocrisy. Many practices that violate our sense of fairness: preferential access, influence through wealth, and systemic inequality are tolerated, even normalized. But bribery? That’s where we draw the line.

Why?

Because bribery is overt. It makes visible what society prefers to keep hidden: that influence is often bought, not earned. It strips away the illusion of meritocracy and exposes the transactional nature of power.

Bribery is not merely an ethical issue; it’s a mirror held up to our social and economic structures. It forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about integrity, character, and the uneven playing field we inhabit.

So before we rush to condemn, we must first agree on the terms of the debate. We must ask, not rhetorically, but rigorously:

What is wrong with bribery?