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johnnybgoode
What do you do? You wonder if you really need them in the first place.
noonespecial
Accept that for any value of political power y, there will be some corruption x.

Solve for the minimum of x. Don't get fooled by local minimums.

johnnybgoode
What about y = 0?
noonespecial
Yeah. I had been thinking of that. There should probably be a third term Z that has some sort of inverse proportionality relationship to y that represents cartels/warlords/etc that fill the power vacuum of a very low y situation. This would also cause x to be very high. (eg: Somalia)
johnnybgoode
I don't think I would distinguish between z and y. In other words, a high z is the same as a high y, and of course either one causes a high x.
noonespecial
Or -y is what happens when you don't have any y and so its an absolute value of y modified by some vector function v as to which sections of public life y (or the absolute value thereof) extends into...

For some metaphor m that is extended beyond a limit l, it becomes increasingly r, ridiculous. :)

johnnybgoode
Well, let me put it this way: Warlords have political power.