I define it the way the dictionary does: dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power in order to advance their own interests over those of others.
Order a Big Mac - does it look like the ad? Probably not. Drink a Cola, does it feel like your life has turned around, probably not. is advertising dishonest - of course, but we all know that and we learned to deal with it. Is advertising corrupt, I would not say that.
Thus for something to be truly corrupt it needs to go beyond a certain level of illegality.
There are plenty of small banks and credit unions out there thus the point that you cannot open a bank is not quite valid. Are some of the rules onerous, probably. Are some of the rules unfair and ridiculous, probably ... does it mean it is corrupt I don't think so.
> The problem is that the rules are not applied evenly and transparently.
Of course not. Never are, again you are not saying much here. Also with the billions of wasted dollars. Of course, but that is a natural consequence of dealing with immense scope - it is going to be very inefficient and stupid. Still a far cry from actual corruption.
I feel that people tossing around the word corruption don't really understand what it means and it is a hyperbole - only undercuts the message.
A bit like the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld - he is not really a nazi in any shape or form - don't even mention real nazis in the same context.
> I feel that people tossing around the word corruption don't really understand what it means
I see. So your position is: I "don't really understand what [corruption] means" -- but you do. And because you possess the true understanding and I don't, nothing in my personal experience can possibly be evidence of corruption because you alone possess the true understanding.
Have I got that right?
> > The problem is that the rules are not applied evenly and transparently.
> Of course not. Never are
This is normalization of deviance. It might be true that the rules are never applied evenly and transparently anywhere and never have been, but it is one thing to posit this as a fact, and quite another to dismiss it as being inevitable (and hence acceptable) by saying, "Of course it's that way." No, it's not "of course." It's corruption, not just because the rules are not applied evenly and transparently, but because this is done by a group of powerful people for their own benefit at the expense of everyone else. Its inevitability is a self-fulfilling prophecy. By accepting it, you have made yourself part of the problem.
You can claim that people tossing around corruption don't understand it... but you in the first place don't understand the scenario OP is even describing (as they're unable to provide details, you couldn't possibly be making an accurate judgment). So it is far fetched for you to confidently claim OP is misusing corruption etc. here.
How would you define it?