Corruption's insidious influence on society

If Andrew Wedeman's book Double Paradox: Rapid Growth and Rising Corruption in China tries to explain why this emerging economy could grow at a double-digit rate for about three decades to become the world's second-largest despite rampant corruption, what China's new leadership has been doing since they took office more than a year ago is to root out as many corrupt elements as possible to check the rampant power abuses.

The more than a dozen vice-ministerial or above officials, including two members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, either placed under investigation or put on trial could serve as a footnote to the book to suggest how severe the corruption is within the ruling Party and government hierarchy.

But the fact they were caught in the anti-corruption net coincides with one of the conclusions Andrew Wedeman reached, namely that the anti-graft campaign may have to some extent prevented the abuse of power from spiraling out of control.