Is corporate governance dead now?

Do you think that after all those scandals starting from the subprime mortgage crisis to Bernard Madoff and Rod Blagojevich corporate governance is dead? The World thought that after Enron it was enough to adopt more stringent regulation and control mechanisms like SOX. But can measures like that really prevent moral and ethical failure? We see such failures not only in the newly emerging democracies where the political culture is still sufferring from teething problems. Local politicians, often coming from "not very rich background", see their term in office as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enrich themselves and their proxies. Partly we can understand it though we do not like it. But why do people who already are earning hundreds of millions need to cheat and cut corners to have even more? Is it because of human nature or are there systemic faults in the way Western economies are organized? Are companies which boast with slogans like corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, corporate culture, etc. and spending millions on very complex reporting systems really walking the talk? Or is it just windowdressing and empty propaganda? I would like to share with you my views and experience gained from working for top multinationals over the past 10+ years. But even more important, I would like to hear your views and comments. I still strongly believe, that in spite of the recent failures and scandals, doing business in a responsible way pays off. It pays off if it is not mere propaganda, windowdressing, but if moral and ethical behaviour simply becomes part of the company´s DNA. Maybe I am naive and don´t know how businesses operate and do not understand their needs. Such remarks I often heard and still hear when I try to draw the attention of top managements on potential problems and emerging issues. But maybe I am right and I hope I am not alone.