By: Heron

We could also look at this from a class perspective. The ethics of propriety tend to be a common part of a middle-class upbringing, as the middle-class tends to provide the myriad types of servitors (from transport pilots to tax assessors) who actually implement policy, and honesty in policy implementation leads to reliable, trustworthy governance. While one might have greater difficulty finding similar standards among India’s patronage-staffed civil servants(who, as a result of how they got their jobs, would see rent-farming as the point), these sorts of relatively well-paying but not terribly important posts might be awarded more on merit, leading to greater honesty in the staff.