Relevance of the Virtue of Justice to Contemporary Discussions of Corruption

Addressing the perception and incidence of corruption in Ghana calls for a holistic approach. Unlike studies which privilege the importance of institutions and policies to addressing corruption, this dissertation pivots the idea of corruption as a vice and, as such, argues the necessity of focusing on forming virtuous individuals who work in those institutions. Using the virtue ethics tradition in Catholic Moral Theology, and with particular emphasis on Thomas Aquinas’ account of justice and its related concepts, this dissertation illustrates how the virtue of justice enables us probe the latent and manifest socio-cultural and economic reasons for the perpetration and perpetuation of corruption. Furthermore, the Thomistic account of justice and its related concepts such as the common good, helps us examine nepotism, greed, extortion and other forms of corruption carried out by politicians, civil servants and citizens. Since corruption occurs between actors and actants in a particular social setting, the dissertation uses anthropological theories of corruption and social relations to understand corruption in Ghana. It also explores reasons why certain corrupt practices are accommodated while others incur public anger. This work further explores the intersection between moral assemblages and social navigation, and how people access and distribute the goods of the state. The dissertation concludes by examining how the discussion of justice can be used as a formative tool in liturgical and para-liturgical settings and counseling sessions.