You’re looking at this from a naive, pious, holier-than-thou American perspective. Corruption in many cases is just tipping on a larger scale.

And let’s not kid ourselves. We’re highly corrupt. We just choose to cloak it in legality and legitimacy and not call it what it is. We call it lobbying, dealmaking, or urban renewal.

Small-scale corruption also helps the many and tempers over-zealous regulations and fines. Much better to be able to pay a cop $50 to go fuck off vs getting a $1000 ticket for a comparatively minor offense. Cop gets a few bucks, higher-ups get a cut, everyone walks away happy.