[jjawssd]

In order to make the most of your travels, you need to first understand that, throughout much of the Third World, there is a smoothly functioning “system” in place that has evolved over centuries. From the First World perspective it is a “corrupt” system, and indeed, at the higher levels there is no other word for it, and this blog’s purpose is to remove the brutality and horror of such high level corruption. At the lower levels, however, the system contains an element of grace and humanity, and this lower lever is all that most people will ever encounter. You might still call this lower level “corruption”, but that’s not a helpful word if you want to acquire the most effective attitude for dancing with it. I prefer “negotiable”. It focuses the mind on the true task at hand when dealing with officialdom and removes any unpleasant subconscious connotations. So if you can view the following tools and tips as negotiation guidelines it will help bring the necessary smile to your face when the situation requires one.

Source: http://www.whoismcafee.com/the-travel-guide/

[toomanybeersies]

I have been to enough developing countries to know that "the system" does not work.

It's just a bunch of jackbooted thugs, who got lucky for some reason and somehow became police officers, extorting money from everyone because of some arbitrary state power entrusted in them.

I've seen cops in Vietnam make hundreds of dollars a day in bribes, when the average Vietnamese person makes $5 per day. Sure, they're making a lot of that bribe money from tourists, but I can guarantee you that they're not reinvesting that money in the local community.

There is no grace and humanity in these systems. It's greed, it's capitalism at its most pure, if you have the money, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don't draw the ire of the powers that be. It is not a fair system, the poor just get fucked over harder, why is the government worker going to process your paperwork faster when the person next to you is willing and able to pay more to get it done?

[notfromhere]

I never would have imagined someone idealizing third world corruption. Shits corrupt and prevents these places from developing functioning institutions and governance; the first world used to have the same type of arrangement until stable democratic institutions took over. Pretending its some stable existence is a weird idealization of a shitty scenario.

[slededit]

John Mcaffe isn't really idolizing it. His guide is explaining to otherwise hapless western tourists.

Of course since he wrote this he had to return to America to flee a murder investigation so you should take everything he says with a grain of salt.

[selimthegrim]

He's far from the first to do so, although Ashis Nandy had different reasons

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-nandy-affair