ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that corruption is not the sign simply of an absence, like ethics in conduct of government affairs or of 'good governance', but also of a presence: different ideologies of the state. Whereas traditional definitions of corruption focus on acts of illegality and/or the breaking of rules by politicians or officials in order to subvert the public good in favour of private interests, 'state capture' occurs when the rule-making process is itself 'captured'. The term 'state capture' is suddenly widespread in political and social commentary in and on South Africa. Migrating from economics, the expression describes an especially severe form of corruption. Modern definitions of corruption are not necessarily tied to liberal or neoliberal economic policy prescriptions, but they are closely tied to a liberal conception of the state. As an idea, 'corruption' has a varied conceptual history.
