The Music of The rakes progress is a colossal, efficient nation, renowned for its ritual sacrifices, enslaved workforce, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, cynical, humorless, devout population of 6.338 billion rakes progressians are prohibited from doing almost everything except voting, which they do timidly and conservatively.

The large, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Administration, and Law & Order. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 63.7%.

The very strong rakes progressian economy, worth 540 trillion kronor a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a large, well-organized, fairly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Tourism, Door-to-door Insurance Sales, and Basket Weaving. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 85,244 kronor, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 249,759 per year while the poor average 22,948, a ratio of 10.9 to 1.

The nation is relieved that all of the recent madness has finally come to an end, evenings at university debating societies often end with everyone acknowledging both sides may well be right, fans doing the wave routinely disrupt the finals of Go tournaments, and aging citizens are celebrating the end of the 'Early Bird War'. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. The rakes progress's national animal is the leopard, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

The rakes progress is ranked 252,523^rd in the world and 5^th in Clown Town for Most Cheerful Citizens, with 44.79 Percentage Of Water Glasses Perceived Half-Full.