Bribery is justifiably condemned, and is the object of a global legal
campaign. This article asks whether payment of a bribe can ever be
justified. In order to answer that question, the article first looks at three
tropes of reasons for criminalizing bribery: as a reflection of morality, to
preserve the connection between people and their government, and to
prevent harm. The article then examines and dismisses two common
excuses for bribery: the need to pay a bribe to conduct business, and the
optimal level of legal enforcement. The article then examines arguments
for paying bribes in authoritarian regimes, and concludes that such
arguments must be treated with caution. Finally, the article considers
bribes paid by Oskar Schindler to save the lives of Jewish workers.
Schindler’s bribes demonstrate that some bribes can be justified. Such
bribes do not present a new checklist for evaluating bribery, nor do they
represent a new trope of thinking. Rather, unique circumstances raise such
bribes above the rules against and concerns about paying bribes.