The Republican State of West End is a colossal, cultured nation, ruled by Speaker of the State with an even hand, and notable for its rum-swilling pirates, fear of technology, and vat-grown people. The hard-nosed, hard-working, humorless, devout population of 8.285 billion Westishes have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Law & Order, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Lakewood. The average income tax rate is 78.9%.

The frighteningly efficient West Endian economy, worth a remarkable 1,105 trillion Dollars a year, is fairly diversified and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Gambling, and Soda Sales. Black market activity is rampant. Average income is an impressive 133,404 Dollars, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 4.9 times as much as the poorest.

Employers are never quite sure if graduates' qualifications have any merit or meaning, dangerous criminals are often 'accidentally' sent on one-way trips to Maxtopia, immigrants are told to pull themselves up by their worn-out budget bootstraps, and one can wake up in West End and have breakfast in Bigtopia. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. West End's national animal is the Cow, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its national religion is Roman Catholicism.

West End is ranked 15,217^th in the world and 98^th in Europe for Most Corrupt Governments, with 120.77 kickbacks per hour.