In 1503, Giuliano della Rovere bribed all but three of the College of Cardinals in order to become Pope. The "investors" who allowed him to secure this position expected a handsome return on their financial support and, as Julius II, he ruled the world's most powerful and wealthy organisation for 10 years.
Bribery in order to secure high office, and the corruption that follows, is hardly new. The impact that corruption has on the wellbeing of the people ruled by corrupt systems is less known.
In Feudal societies, land is owned by a king who doles out fiefdoms to favoured vassals who dedicate the productive capacity of that land to protecting the interests of that king.
The more you can do for the king, the more he favours you with land and entitlements.
Along with the land came all the people who happened to live and work on that land. Be they farmers, miners, foresters or fisherman, their land and work belonged to their feudal overlord. Peasant farmers couldn't pass on title to their families and neither would they benefit from improving their work or performance. Anyone challenging this system could lose their land, homes, or lives.
This state of bonded labour was medieval slavery. Such societies saw little difference between enslaving their own people, and conquering other nations in order to enslave them too.
The cheapest new cars in South Africa cost around R 64,000 and the cheapest five-year-olds at R 35,000. With credit drying up, and many people worried about the state of the economy, cars are looking unaffordable.
An opportune moment for an innovative company to change the game entirely. In New Delhi on Monday, 23 March, Tata unveiled the first commercially available Nano. At R 21,000, the four-door car is the cheapest on the planet.
Innovation over the past few decades has involved using technological improvements to offer ever more sophisticated products at ever-increasing prices. Over the past year, this has changed.
Learn about the Spyder Curve
