Explaining Political Corruption — Why Politicians Are So Corrupt

Why do political leaders behave so badly?

A better question yet is, Why do political leaders who are popular with the people and act as heroic figures, turn out to be corrupt and, frankly, evil?

Photo by Raphael Nogueira on Unsplash

In this blog, I will discuss the rise and corruption of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, otherwise known simply as ‘Lula,’ his successor, Dilma Roussef, and Jair Bolsonaro with the help of the Brazilian documentary, The Edge of Democracy.

I will pay particular attention to Lula and Roussef’s intuitions, or fast thinking, and their cognitive dissonance. I will argue

1. that intuitions are not at play in their corruption because of research that hints that long decision-making processes require slow, or rational, thinking; and
2. that both Lula and Roussef did not find themselves guilty because of their internal justifications, or cognitive dissonance.

Edge of Democracy

Edge of Democracy traces the way Lula and Dilma set the stage for Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign and candidacy in 2018. It follows the details of Lula’s rise and his popularity among grassroots voters.

The director, Petra Costa, claims that Lula only became interested in politics after visiting…