Yes, I strongly agree. Corrupt practices fundamentally highlight the tension between particularistic and universalistic normative standards.

Universalistic standards uphold principles like equality before the law, meritocracy, impartiality, and fairness for all, regardless of personal ties. They demand that rules and procedures apply uniformly to everyone.

Particularistic standards, conversely, prioritize loyalty, kinship, friendship, or community ties. Corrupt acts, such as nepotism (favoring relatives for jobs), cronyism (benefiting friends), or bribery (exchanging favors for personal gain), are direct manifestations of particularism. Individuals performing these acts prioritize their private relationships or personal profit over universal norms of justice, efficiency, and public good.

For instance, a public official granting a contract to an unqualified relative (particularistic) directly violates universalistic principles of merit and fair competition. The act reveals a conflict where the individual chooses to act based on personal connections, defying the objective, impartial rules that ideally govern public life. This tension is at the heart of much corrupt behavior.