Are All Politicians Corrupt in Pakistan? Mythical Narratives Designed to Support Rule of Dictators

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]
All politicians are corrupt? This sweeping generalization is a narrative used and popularized by supporters of neocolonialism to justify the rule of un-elected elites on one hand,  and on the other hand to demoralize the people,  and keep them in a perpetual state of powerlessness and hopelessness.

Politics of “All politicians are corrupt” Narrative

This narrative is supported by a sub-narrative that Pakistan’s problems can be “solved by shooting all the corrupt”.

  • Such a sweeping generalization is not only contrary to truth, but, also hides a sinister narrative which states that dictatorial governments are angel-clean. It also suggests that there is no corruption in state and government institutions such as courts and military enterprises. 
  • All of these narratives can only be verified through transparent across the board accountability through uniform open trial of politicians, generals, judges, and bureaucrats with no holy cows. 
  • The narrative implies that choice of Pakistani people is bad. It ignores that the process through which political parties develop and filter the choice of leaders as they rise from ranks to the top leadership role is stultified by dictatorships that ban politics and is also stultified by the ever present threat of impending dictatorship during civilian rule. 
  • Stultified politics resulting from political engineering of polls and political leaders had been the history since independence. 
  • See also: Why no PM of Pakistan has ever completed his/her tenure?

Sweeping Generalization and its Psychology

No, ALL are NOT corrupt. There are good and bad people every where,  every group and every community. Generalizing everyone as corrupt is a convenient excuse for
(1) not voting,
(2) condemning everyone,
(3) justifying escaping from the country,
(4) self indulging in corruption,
(5) absolving from your responsibility to take ownership of the solution to the problem,


When people say that “All are corrupt” or “all politicians are corrupt”. Then by indulging in a political discussion, we have all become politicians!
If this (all corrupt) is the assumption, then everyone including us are also included in this corruption. Recall Quranic ayat that Allah doesn’t change the situation of people unless they are themselves intent upon changing it. Sweeping personalized generalization without proof like these to a community or class are unethical.
“All are corrupt” assumption indicates that we are still using a black n white view. This typically occurs in a stage in our growth phase where in a movie or world there are just good people ( اچھے والے)  or bad people (گندے والے). Maturity stage makes us view things in a more complex manner where everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Some overpower others at different times in the lives of people. This fluctuation between good n bad makes us human. Otherwise “all good” are angels and “all bad” are devils/shaitaan.

Narratives to Support Dictatorial Interventions and Continuous Series of Destabilizations 

A deeper look at the dictatorial interventions and a continuous series of destabilization efforts during civilian rules indicate that this kind of destabilization is present in all the developing countries and is part of post-colonialism exploitation by the world superpowers, this has been named as neo-colonialism. My post on narratives designed to dishonor popular choice and support neocolonialism explains how neocolonialism spreads destructive narratives in developing countries which are taken up by vested interests and un-elected elites. These narratives are used to dishonor the will of the people, and justify the takeover by un-elected elites. This seems to be the history of post-colonialism in developing countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and on and on through out all the old colonies of the imperial powers. This is how they are kept perpetually destabilized and hence “perpetually developing”.

See also:


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