Pages Monday, October 29, 2012 We are more likely to bribe than I am There is a variant of the golden rule that says "Whoever has the gold, rules." This power of money comes from its ability to grease the wheels in government and business. Some of these uses of money are legally sanctioned (like the rampant lobbying in Washington, DC) and some are not (like outright bribery). But there is a long history of people using money to get access to power. On the other side, though, there is a moral argument against buying influence and power. In her book, The Purchase of Intimacy , sociologist Viviana Zelizer points out that there are many kinds of relationships that we feel reluctant to trade against currency. Societies make it taboo to trade money for sex, because we do not want there to be a strict monetary value for close relationships. Likewise, there is a moral value against purchasing access to power. People who are governing are supposed to be focused on the good of the people. At the point where there is a monetary value on governing, leadership becomes just another commodity to be bought and sold. Because there is a moral dimension to bribery, someone willing to offer a bribe has to overcome the fear and guilt that come with overstepping a moral norm. Psychologically, this involves some kind of moral disengagement. That is, a person willing to offer a bribe has to find a way not to see