ABSTRACT

Political corruption has specific consequences on the political class, the way in which political careers evolve, the capabilities required of a politician who participates systematically in corrupt exchange, the motivations that push individuals to get involved in politics. This chapter discusses these questions, by defining an ideal- type of the "business politician" as one possessing the abilities necessary for the functioning of the system of corruption. It explains some preconditions of the emergence of the political boss in the crisis of the mass party. The chapter analyzes the skills in illegality, as a factor that facilitates these new political careers. It argues that the business politicians use their networking abilities to create support and complicity. The chapter describes the effect of political socialization on the "moral cost" of corruption. Business politicians can, be described as homines novi, whose entry into politics, from the Roman Republic onward, is considered as having raised the tolerance threshold of deviation from the established norms.