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The System Made Me Do It: Corruption in Post-Communist Societies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2006

Brendan Kiernan
Brendan Kiernan
Affiliation:
Sudbury, MA
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Extract

The System Made Me Do It: Corruption in Post-Communist Societies. By Rasma Karklins. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2005. 219p. $69.95 cloth, $25.95 paper.

Comedian Flip Wilson headlined his first nationwide television special in September 1969. Risking his tentative hold on a new (white) audience, Wilson joked about a minister's wife who justified her latest shopping spree by claiming, “The Devil made me buy this dress.” This declaration of self-indulgence later developed into “the Devil made me do it” and became a staple for one of the show's most popular recurring characters, Geraldine Jones. A comic genius, Flip Wilson understood the importance of a tag line that would resonate with his audience. Few fantasies can be more widespread than abdicating personal responsibility in the pursuit of a good time.

Type
BOOK REVIEWS: COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 406 - 407
Copyright
© 2006 American Political Science Association

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