The ... state was not just corrupt but also corrupting. Once you saw how it worked you could understand a phenomenon which otherwise made no sense at all: the difficulty ... people have saying a kind word about one another. Individual ...s are delightful: funny, warm, smart, and good company. I left two dozen interviews saying to myself, “What great people!” They do not share the sentiment about one another: the hardest thing to do in … is to get one ... to compliment another behind his back. No success of any kind is regarded without suspicion. Everyone is pretty sure everyone is cheating on his taxes, or bribing politicians, or taking bribes, or lying about the value of his real estate. And this total absence of faith in one another is self-reinforcing. The epidemic of lying and cheating and stealing makes any sort of civic life impossible; the collapse of civic life only encourages more lying, cheating, and stealing. Lacking faith in one another, they fall back on themselves and their families.
cuvântul pe care îl căutaţi o să îl găsiţi citind articolul ăsta din Vanity Fair (cele mai bune articole pe anul acesta le-am citit în Rolling Stone şi Vanity Fair, în ce lume am ajuns să trăim), dar pentru o secundă am crezut că am halucinaţii.