Task One

The economic structure of Island countries has been crippled by unethical actions.
The practice of corruption and misuse of powers had led to the downfall of the
welfare of its people and tarnished its pride. Therefore, this essay shall provide an
insight of the corrupt practices in Vanuatu discuss on the reasons why bribery and
corruption are unethical at different levels of governance.
To begin with, corruption is believed to be the root of problems in Vanuatu especially
in the public sector. The imprisonment of two former prime ministers and 12
members of parliament, the actions of these MPs could be analyzed through ethical
theory of virtue ethics and utilitarianism. Virtue ethics are divided into two main
branches, ethics of character conduct character refers to the qualities that
differentiate one person from another while conduct refers to the behavior or action.
Aristotle argues that we need to educate our emotional response in order to develop
character virtues. Virtue ethics is defined as the moral character or virtue of the
person carrying out a task, rather than the consequences of the action. (Solomon,
1984) Ethics of character highlights on the importance of acquiring good character
through self cultivation and education. Unfortunately, none of the MPs possessed
these values.
Additionally, this is depicted by Vanuatus acting president Marcellino Pipite who
used his powers to pardon himself and other 13 MPs who were convicted of bribery.
The rest of the MPs who could have denied taking bribes comprised their character
and practiced corruption. Aristotle emphasized that in order to acquire a good
character, one needs to do right or good action over a long period of time. The MPs
of Vanuatu government miss-managed funds took bribes to pass out a no-motion call
and distributed resources improperly for a long period. These corrupt actions seem
to become a habit for the MPs, which they practiced for a long time frame instead of
good habits and being concerned of the welfare of the people.
Moreover, a great leader or a person of authority must have strong moral
uprightness. (Simpson and Taylor, 2013) Unfortunately, these practices have faded
away in Vanuatu and even if there is little integrity left, politicians bring opponents
down. If the speaker had followed his ethical principles of he would not have taken
advantages of the powers of being acting president and pardoning himself and other
MP.The politicians actions did not reflect integrity. After being convicted, Moana
Carcasses argues that payment of $35 million to the opposition were not bribes but
loans.
As an extension, in order to make just and fair decisions, ones actions must be
based in the means between extremes. For instance, speakers actions would be
regarded as a vice. Aristotle argues that moral behavior is always based on two
extremes. In order to allow Moana Carcasses to succeed as the Pm of Vanuatu and
Willie Jimmy was held accountable for breaching the leadership penal codes, after
exercising guilty plea.

To add on, utilitarianism highlights on the importance of undertaking the best moral
action that maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain for the least number of people. In
Vanuatus case, a typical utilitarian would infer that happiness is maximized for small
group of people. Nevertheless, a utilitarian would always ensure that an ethical
action produced good consequences and net marginal utility is maximized. The
actions of the speaker and the Deputy PM failed to comply with this theory as it
produced catastrophic consequences. The country has barely recovered after the
Tropical Cyclone Pam when it encountered another political obstacle. Also a
utilitarian would analyze the situation from the consequentialist theory perceptive,
which focuses on the outcome of an action rather than the intention behind the
action. The outcome of committing bribery and corruption which are unethical, the
ministers of Vanuatu had the intention to pursue their self interest in order to fulfil
their own dreams. Yet the end result was negative and they ended their lives in jail.
Moving on, the decisions must be ethical and based on calculating the good terms of
the consequences of the action. Principles of economy and efficiency often involved
in public sector ethics have a definite consequentialist basis. (Preston, Sampford
and Connors, 2002) There are several cost and benefits associated with the actions
of these politicians. For instance, when the deputy prime minister gave bribe to the
opposition members, the benefit and short term consequence of his action would
result in Moana Carcasses becoming the Prime Minister and ruling Vanuatu the way
he wishes. However, the cost may be intense. Had these actions not been taken by
the MPs, the condition of Vanuatu may have been improved and would have become
a better place to live in. I am free to do and say whatever I like as long as it does not
harm other people in society. Referring to the scenario in Vanuatu, regarding mass
corruption, the MPs were free to do what they felt but their actions have caused
severe harm to the people of Vanuatu.
Local business in an area are able to breach the regulations by bribing the officials.
In some scenarios, major corporations fund political activities of the government and
in return they receive special licenses, patents, permits and legislation made in their
favor. These businesses become a monopoly and exploit the people through higher
prices of goods and services. Secondly, bribery and corruption results in missmanagement of tax payer funds and foreign aid. According to the world bank,
corruption creates inefficiency of formal governance institutions leads to creation of
informal institutions that substitute for the functions that the formal ones are unable
to perform (The World Bank Group) which causes government budgets becoming
distorted, inequitable growth, social exclusion, lack of trust in authorities.
To conclude, the state of an economy becomes paralyzed when norms of bribery
and corruption is followed. Corruption not only affects one nation but harms the
entire globe. Unless immediate actions are taken, the world known for its civilization
would fade away.