Imagine an Asian country that has enjoyed significant American patronage over the decades. Its people are hardworking and value education and the family. Family ties are so important that scholars and journalists call clans the basic building block of the country, and who one knows matters far more than what one can do. This country has a long history, consisting mostly of being colonized by outside powers. Since World War II, the country has been ruled by a set of elites – quasi dictators and their rich businessmen friends. Within the country its politicians switch parties at the drop of a hat. Party identification means nothing; ideology and programmatic differences are almost absent in elections; political success hinges on personalities, political manipulation, and pork-barrel politics. With episodic regularity, the country's leaders and economic elites have been either arrested or forced into exile because of recurrent corruption scandals. The local press calls corruption “our disease,” and one of the most popular topics of conversation in local drinking halls is the utter lack of qualified leadership in both the economic and the political spheres. Privilege is measured by the extent to which one is an exception to the rules.