Cronyism is a specific form of
in-group favoritism, the
spoils system practice of
partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in
politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointing "cronies" to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications. This is in contrast to a ''
meritocracy'', in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, doing favors to organizations, or giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places.
Etymology
The word ''crony'' first appeared in 17th-century London, according to the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
''; it is believed to be derived from the
Greek word (), meaning .
A less likely but oft-quoted source is the supposed
Irish term , which translates as .
Concept
Government officials are particularly susceptible to accusations of cronyism, as they spend
tax
A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
payers' money. Many democratic governments are encouraged to practice administrative
transparency in
accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
and contracting, but there often is no clear delineation of when an appointment to government office is "cronyism".
In the private sector, cronyism exists in organizations, often termed "
the old boys' club" or "the golden circle"; again, the boundary between cronyism and "networking" is difficult to delineate.
It is not unusual for politicians to surround themselves with highly qualified subordinates, and to develop social, business, or political friendships leading to the appointment to office of friends, likewise in granting government contracts. In fact, the counsel of such friends is why the officeholder successfully obtained their powerful position; therefore, cronyism is usually easier to perceive than to demonstrate and prove. Politicians with representatives of business, and other special interests, such as
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s and professional organizations get "crony business" done in political agreements, especially by "reasonable" and lucrative honorariums to the politician for making speeches, or by legal donations to one's election campaign or to one's political party, etc.
Cronyism describes relationships existing among mutual acquaintances in private organizations where business, business information, and social interaction are exchanged among influential personnel. This is termed
crony capitalism,
and is an ethical breach of the principles of the
market economy; in advanced economies, crony capitalism is a breach of market regulations.
Given crony capitalism's nature, these dishonest business practices are frequently (yet not exclusively) found in societies with ineffective legal systems. Consequently, there is an impetus upon the legislative branch of a government to ensure enforcement of the legal code capable of addressing and redressing private party manipulation of the economy by the involved businessmen and their government cronies.
The economic and social costs of cronyism are paid by society. Those costs are in the form of reduced business opportunity for the majority of the population, reduced competition in the marketplace, inflated consumer goods prices, decreased economic performance, inefficient business investment cycles, reduced motivation in affected organizations, and the diminution of economically productive activity.
A practical cost of cronyism manifests in the poor workmanship of public and private community projects.
Cronyism is self-perpetuating; cronyism then begets a culture of cronyism. This can only be apprehended by a comprehensive, effective, and enforced legal code, with empowered government agencies that can effect prosecutions in the courts.
Some instances of cronyism are readily transparent. With others, it is only in hindsight that the qualifications of the alleged "crony" must be evaluated. All appointments that are suspected of being cronyism are controversial. The appointed party may choose to either suppress disquiet or ignore it, depending upon the society's level of freedom of expression and individual personal liberty.
See also
References
Further reading
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*
lso in T. G. Andrews and R. Mead (Eds.), Cross Cultural Management, Volume 2 -The Impact of Culture 1: 126–150. Routledge, UK.*
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External links
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Favoritism, Cronyism, and Nepotism. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics,
Santa Clara University.
SuperNews: Hurricane Katrina- A political flash cartoon about the cronyism surrounding
Michael D. Brown and
Hurricane Katrina.
{{Discrimination
Corruption
Political terminology of the United States
Oligarchy
Nepotism
Public choice theory
Group processes
Politics of India