Of course, in western nations, bribery is clearly a crime and is frown upon by virtually all individuals and parties. Whereas, outright bribery can be rather common in third world nations, it is not common in western nations, and is an exceedingly dangerous game to play for those that participate in such, for the consequences of those that get caught can be catastrophic. On the other hand, western nations such as the United States permit lobbyists to perform their duty, as long as they are registered to the appropriate state agencies; and of which lobbying is considered to be a respectable way for industry proponents to help those in the legislature to write, amend, or to better understand the laws, rules and regulations so being contemplated upon or utilized for those industries that are germane to those lobbyists and their given agenda. In other words, lobbyists are, in theory, there to help legislators pass or to amend appropriate legislation that is ultimately beneficial for the country as well as being of benefit or to the approval of those that actuate those lobbyists.
It could be said, that legislature representatives are very busy people, with a limited amount of time, and a limited amount of staff, of which no legislature representative typically has enough time to read, edit, and write, so as to thoroughly comprehend all that is being discussed and thereby passed by them in their daily activities; therefore, this thus signifies that an expert in a given or contemplated law or rule might indeed be of service to a legislative staff by being able to shed light on such, as exemplified at least in some ways by lobbying efforts. However, the lobbyists that ply their trade in America, typically are not doing it because they are true believers in making their country a better and fairer place for the body of the people, in whole; but rather have specific agendas that they are specifically wishing to address, that will primarily benefit the power behind the lobbyist's actions, which is usually some corporate entity or similar.
For a certainty, lobbying is seldom a one-way street, of which lobbyists typically desire to setup some sort of quid pro quo with a given representative of the legislature, so as to provide some sort of perceived service or benefit for the people within that representatives' domain in return for legislation that is favorable for that lobbyist's purpose. Additionally, there is frequently an implied understanding between both parties, that those that currently are employed as a governmental representative, today, will have available to them at some future point, well paying offers within that respective industry, should they be inclined to take advantage of this unwritten offer.
In truth, lobbying as typically practiced in America and outright bribery, are essentially similar in that these are deals structured in which industries buy influence to favor their interests, of which, they in turn, provide some sort of compensation to those that have provided the power to implement such. This so indicates that those with the right connections are able to influence decisions so being made by legislative bodies in a manner which benefits those spending that money through their lobbying efforts; of which, anytime that any legislative body makes a decision that thereby unfairly favors the very few at the expense of the many, they have done so to their own discredit, and to the lasting disservice of their country.