Venality
Etymology
From Latin venalitas, from venalis, "for sale, to be sold," which comes from venum, "sale" or "that which is offered for sale." The word carries no ambiguity about its charge: to call someone venal is to say their loyalty and judgment carry a price tag. It names character reduced to a commodity.
noun · /vih-NAL-ih-tee/
The quality of being open to bribery — willing to betray duty or principle for money.
What it names
The specific corruption of a person or office that is, in effect, for sale — where influence and integrity can simply be bought.
Example
The inquiry exposed a venality so routine that a permit’s cost included a well-understood bribe.
Related idea
Corruption names the whole decay of an institution or act; venality is the narrower personal trait — the readiness to be bought — that drives much of it.