It is a popular saying that most parents are good at offering their children some treats in the belief that they will be forced to behave as a result. Most people have dubbed bribery “the best parenting tool.” The reason is that parents are good at offering their children some treats in exchange for induced good behavior. This perfectly qualifies as a bribe!
A bribe is a gift intended to change the person’s behavior in a way that is inconsistent with your responsibilities. The moral difference between a bribe and submitting to extortion lies in the fact that the bribe is offered to obtain a favor, but extortion is a demand made under threat.
In the case of bribery, it is easy to avoid it, because the intention of the donor is often very impossible to determine. But what do we say in a situation where things are obtained through coercion? Although it is a common practice of organized crime, however, euphemistically, extortion is known as protection in many sectors. In most cases, it is called blackmail because the two are closely related. Both are similar crimes, but blackmail is considered less serious, for example, a threat to the public disclosure of specific information, a threat that is socially harmful, while extortion is a crime of robbery with an element of force.
A typical example of blackmail is this: a photojournalist threatens to do something legal, such as posting a series of photographs, and the blackmailer offers payment to avoid exposure and humiliation. On the part of extortion, everything in it is totally illegal, since it involves threats of violence or other illegal acts. It is like a robbery, except that in robbery the violence is more total (very real) and very immediate. The threat of violence in extortion can never progress beyond the threat stage, assuming that the person extorted pays.
However, giving in to extortion is the same as exaction, which generally refers to the demand for money or goods through the threat of violence, since extortion can occur through coercion other than violence. The way in which extortion as a crime is different from robbery; There is a broader moral difference between a bribe and submitting to extortion. In bribery, you pay to do the work on your behalf, but bow down to extortion by paying for your physical safety, through threats. The amount of invisible force, the amount of things involved, and the time frame make a big difference.
Although extortion can occur without force, since the victim is generally given some time to comply before the threat is carried out, it is always accompanied by a threat. Unlike extortion, there is always a “cordial agreement” in bribery between the parties involved. Despite the alleged moral differences, no law (civil, religious or moral) authorizes a person to indulge in the act of taking bribes or submitting to extortion. Furthermore, the moral difference between them lies essentially in the individual, who can by himself choose to differentiate them for whatever reason, otherwise, apart from their physical differences, both are CRIMINAL acts!
