Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I. Positions : General introduction -- Thinking clearly about corruption -- The corruption of society: locating kernels of mistrust -- Part II. Tales: Early symptoms of corruption: Harappan routines of bodily practice -- The Vedic period: the esoteric rhythm and sounds of sacrifice -- Dharma Yuga: contentions over justice -- Trade winds: building global connections of corruption -- Conclusions: Corporate power and its dissolution, or the future of corruption.

"Law and policy treat corruption as something far less than it truly is. Using India's long history as a case study, Sudhir Chella Rajan argues that corruption is the structure underlying social hierarchy. Throughout history, elites have fixed the rules of the game for their own benefit, even as most ordinary people were faithful to life's rubrics"--