tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post8712757851078389069..comments2024-03-27T04:46:33.198-07:00Comments on Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: 2013 Corruption index Now PublishedPaul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-51612498977977235062013-12-05T21:45:20.825-08:002013-12-05T21:45:20.825-08:00"suggesting a little corruption is not so bad...<br /><i>"suggesting a little corruption is not so bad a thing"</i><br />No, I do not see where you can read that into what I wrote. I think there are questions about what those colours and numbers mean in this particular case. I think there is a difference between what kind of 'sweetener' might be involved in getting a government contract to supply the army with black treacle and a villager getting a rubber stamp on an official document. That's what this was about. <br /><br />I'd also say that there is a <b>perception</b> over here that the way government contracts were awarded after the Iraq war (at least) would lead one to wonder at the colour used to shade the USA. One man's "lobbying" ("considered just a fact of life" in Washington) is another man's concept of improper relationships between interest groups and lawmakers. <br /><br />I think it would be a mistake to impose one - artefact centred - interpretation on the colours here, just because it suits you. What about testing it against other indeces, ivory poaching, illegal whaling, forest removal, drug trafficking, wildlife trafficking, vehicle theft etc etc. Or literacy, joblessness/job security and women's rights? Do the patterns come out so simplistically each and every time, or just with antiquities, and in that case, what makes the antiquities trade so different? <br /><br />But then if we look at two of the countries you are incessantly going on about in entirely black and critical tones, China and Turkey, are they as dark red as your model predicts? <br /><br />They have the same colour on the scale as Estonia, but I never see you "observing" about Estonia. The Balkans come out at the same level, and Britain with its nighthawks and huge antiquities trade comes out "nice and clean" on this scale. As does Germany with its Munich munzentrade and Switzerland.... <br /><br />I think things are a lot more complex than your simplistic (and self-intersted) equation would have us believe. <br />Paul Barfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-40952303874355107212013-12-04T14:32:59.478-08:002013-12-04T14:32:59.478-08:00Are you suggesting a little corruption is not so b...Are you suggesting a little corruption is not so bad a thing as long as its in a country that has a cultural bureaucracy that takes a dim view of collecting? That's what it sounds like. Please clarify. I'd suggest there is a relationship between corrupt, grasping governments and a state owns everything approach that stomps on collectors (or at least the ones that are not politically connected). You might disagree, but the stats don't lie. Sure they are not perfect, but its far easier to quantify perceptions of corruption than actual corruption that is hidden. And perhaps, the stats undercount in situations where corruption is considered just a fact of life.Cultural Property Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05924359202414555962noreply@blogger.com