Venality

Look up venality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Venality is a vice associated with being bribeable or of selling one's services or power, especially when one should act justly instead. In its most recognizable form, dishonesty, venality causes people to lie and steal for their personal advantage, and is related to bribery and nepotism, among other vices.

Context

Venality in its mild form is a vice notable especially among those with government or military careers. In these fields, one is supposed to act with justice and honor and not accept bribes. That ensures that the organization is not susceptible to self-interested parties.

The Oxford English Dictionary^[1] defines it as:

1. The quality or fact of being for sale.
2. The quality of being venal; readiness to give support or favour in return for profit or reward; prostitution of talents or principles for mercenary considerations.

In contrast to the previous interpretation, dishonesty is not specifically expressed in the literal meaning, but is often implied. The condition of failing to act justly is not a literal component of the word's meaning either. By definition, committing "venal" acts does not indicate "stealing" or "lying", but rather suggests a consensual arrangement, perhaps without conscience or regard for consequences, but is not synonymous with stealing. While bribery could be related, nepotism clearly has no literal similarity or correlation with venality. Though venality is generally used as a pejorative term, an individual or entity could be venal (or mercenary) and not be corrupt or unethical. One could perform one's duties or job in a perfunctory manner in order to collect a wage or payment, or prostitute one's time or skills for monetary or material gain, without necessarily being dishonest.

Much contemporary use of the words venal or venality is applied to modern professional athletes, particularly baseball, basketball, American football, and soccer players all around the world. The implication being that the highly paid players are essentially "hired guns" with no allegiance to any team or city, and are motivated solely by the acquisition of material wealth.

In Revolution and other Moral panics

For people to accept settlements and legislation, the acts of the government must be seen as just. This perception enhances the legitimacy of the government. Venality is a term often used with reference to pre-revolutionary France, where it describes the then-widespread practice of selling administrative positions within the government to the highest bidder, especially regarding the Nobles of the Robe.

Thus, for example, venality was a charge for which, in part, Danton and others were executed during the Terror.

In Culture

Several so-called Reality TV programs have been criticized for their promotion of venal behavior; specifically Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?, in which fifty women competed to marry a presumed multi-millionaire who was shown only in silhouette. The premise that the contestants would compete to marry an unseen stranger for no other reason than his wealth would be an example of venality.

"Venality" used in a pejorative but accurate sense, is used when describing apparent acts of care with an ulterior mercenary motive. An example is where one of a number of children seeks to care for his or her elderly parents, outwardly presenting compassion, but at the same time securing for himself or herself, access to and ultimate control of a greater share of income and assets than such person would be entitled to on a pro-rata distribution.

Notes