I suspect the drive to stamp out "corruption" basically makes illegal the kinds of patronage available to the poor or poorly connected, while leaving intact the political economy network of the well-connected. Old boys' networks, university alumni associations, and the like, are acceptable forms of what, when observed in other countries or in poorer social strata is called "corruption". Every so often, a member of the elite will be ritually punished for corruption as a way to hide the fact that corruption by another name is still rampant among the elite.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan