“Corruption corrodes more than finances; it erodes trust, justice, and morality. A corrupt act may enrich one person but impoverishes an entire society. Integrity is the true currency of public life.”

Scotland in the World Forum (February 4, 2008), Church of Scotland (May 25, 2009)
Variant: Trust is the lifeblood of a decent society. The true currency of democracy.

Source: The Postman (1985), Section 3, “Cincinnatus”, Chapter 14 (p. 267)
Variant: It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.
As quoted in Values of the Wise: Humanity's Highest Aspirations (2004) by Jason Merchey, p. 120
This is very similar to the expression by Frank Herbert in Chapterhouse: Dune (1985): "All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."
Context: It’s said that “power corrupts,” but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable.

Source: Interview with Angelo Bagnasco http://www.30giorni.it/articoli_id_13527_l3.htm (2007)

Source: on Twitter, 10 Jun 2019

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamantis in Deserto) (1990)

2014, 25th Anniversary of Polish Freedom Day Speech (June 2014)
Context: Our democracies must be defined not by what or who we’re against, but by a politics of inclusion and tolerance that welcomes all our citizens. Our economies must deliver a broader prosperity that creates more opportunity -- across Europe and across the world -- especially for young people. Leaders must uphold the public trust and stand against corruption, not steal from the pockets of their own people. Our societies must embrace a greater justice that recognizes the inherent dignity of every human being. And as we’ve been reminded by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, our free nations cannot be complacent in pursuit of the vision we share -- a Europe that is whole and free and at peace. We have to work for that. We have to stand with those who seek freedom.

Nixon as Senator, speaking of the Truman administration in 1951, as quoted in Isaac Asimov&#x27;s Book of Facts (1992), p. 338 http://www.findbookprices.com/detail/0803893477 <br class="br">1950s

Attributed, In the Media <br class="br">Source: Financial Times http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7ba47200-015c-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.html#axzz45lPGQfQg &quot;Transparency thwarts the abuse of power to enrich the powerful&quot;, Column in the Financial Times, 13 April 2016.

Speech in Urbana, Illinois (1951); as quoted in Adlai's Almanac: The Wit and Wisdom of Stevenson of Illinois (1952), p. 20