ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to examine the conceptualization of political corruption on the basis of a critical reading of Kant’s conceptions of honesty, publicity and truthfulness. The hope here is to contribute to the ongoing attempt to make the concept of political corruption more suitable for the study of democracies by critical engagement with Kant’s political theory and these specific conceptions. A secondary aim is to shed some light on aspects of Kant’s political theory that seem to be neglected in the literature about political corruption and in the more “realistic” texts that criticize Kant.
