Mafia emergence

[atreestump]

In Salvatore Lupo's The History of the Mafia he kicks off criticising other historians who devote too much effort digging through etymological records of the term and who manage to find 'origins' as far back as say the 13th century. Lupo declares it is the revolutions during the 19th century that are of most importance when talking about mafia. He observes that the eastern part of the island of Sicily did not develop the mafia, it is mainly on the western side of the island that the mafia really took off.

The abolition of the feudal system came with the concept of camorra - a sort of proto-mafia. This is prior to the unification of Italy. During this dismantling of the ancien regimes there began a 'democratization of violence'. He doesn't attribute this to property law, as it seems to be exclusively western-Sicily that had the problems of mafia.

A number of reforms were carried out under the Bourbons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bourbon and so the Napoleonic period began in Sicily. An strange dynamic developed between thieves/bandits, the new police forces and the general citizens, 'the companies at arms' seems to have emerged with a prior understanding and rapport with thieves, whereby thefts would involve a negotiation process where some goods were returned, but thieves kept some of the loot and 'captains' would be awarded a 'prize' for arbitration. 

Lupo makes the point that during these turbulent and violent times, there was a shifting of the wealth in the society. It didn't matter who took what side, republican, anti-Bourbon, it was those who were most effective and loyal to the liberal aristocracy that became the most respected mafiosi.

The protection of property was secured through patronage of thieves, which started off a form of clientelism. This was mainly to protect livestock, rather than land.

There is a three level system: 
[list=1]
[*]The ones who committed the crimes
[*]The ones who negotiate
[*]The organisers who stayed on their own lands, receiving animals on their lands and deciding who deserves to be killed.
[/list]
Rather than viewing the mafia as a holdover from Feudalism, there is more and more evidence of the mafia being a weapon of an 'aborted' bourgeoisie, which utilised intimidation upwards and downwards the social hierarchy.

[atreestump]

I gave away Lupo's book a few months ago and was trying to remember this point. Can't believe I just stumbled on it.

[kFoyauextlH]

This is really weird, I was going to bring up this word and a lot of mafia stuff related to things that have been going on, will be going on, must go on, are expected to go on, which I hope won't go on, will stop going on, and dream never went on, will never go on, and could never occur. Except we are very forcefully told that they did, and are, and will, that they are as brutal as basic math, that it is difficult to naturally find a way around them, but then what is it in nature that makes such things necessary and inevitble and even helpful to certain parties? Where does what we think is aberrant but are told is "the law of the jungle" start, and what is it in the design of society and "civilization" that makes this seem so fitting?

The mafias are the enemy, and also what the people have to become to get certain things done, for example not blurting out information that might help whatever group is considered the enemy or working in opposition to the in-group, and strict consequences for those who do, or examples being made of them, ending up becoming no different from the enemy or any enemy, and just the latest holder passed the ball. You and yours win, that ball gets called a globe, and you see so many little lights, perhaps flames, around which burgeoning mafias sit and tell stories, and stories, particularly "good" ones, are expected to have plots.

Plots are not only what Mafias sit on to warm and hatch, but also what they fear the most.

Mafias are Paranoid Societies, and one may suggest, are the only real society there is, particularly if you're paranoid.





Added in 4 minutes 8 seconds:


Added in 6 days 1 hour 45 minutes 17 seconds:
This is more on this Mafia stuff coming up:



They are trying to expand "RICO" prosecutions to encompass protestors, so laws designed for mafia people would be applied to people protesting things.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rackete ... ations_Act

The aim is most likely to actually close off all options and try to pressure more extreme things, this seems to be "accelerationism" at work.