Mafia-averse emigration unintentionally strengthens the mafia by removing opposition

Evidence

Franchetti says that in Sicily those who are clever, energetic, and ambitious can only find a way to improve their social position by dedicating themselves to the ‘industria della violenza’ (p. 97). If one does not want to have anything to do with the mafia, then, in the absence of a legitimate authority in which to take refuge, the only alternatives are those of migrating and lying low (‘se ne stanno neghittosi’, p. 109). Both have been widely pursued, thereby —- indirectly and unintentionally - enhancing the sense of distrust on which the force of the mafia thrives: as a result of migration and withdrawal into private life, the proportion of ‘well-adjusted’ or complacent people increases and the system is reinforced. A wide range of evidence (Arlacchi 1983) suggests that, on the margin, people who migrate do so also because of the mafia. Given that ‘mafia-averse’ people tend to migrate more frequently, the degree of opposition is likely to decrease and the power of the mafia to increase. The effects of migration are clearly unintended, because those who migrate do not do so in order to enhance the force of the mafia (although they may of course recognize those effects). — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2187

Categorization

• XREF: A self-reinforcing selection dynamic analogous to the reader’s blindness-collapse mechanism: exit of the compliant leaves a more concentrated predatory residue. Parallels Schelling segregation and adverse selection. — connects to: Out-migration of opponents and political alliance explained Mafia survival into the twentieth century; Long domination produces adjustment to rather than rebellion — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2121; Anti-conformity movements reproduce the conformity they reject — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 728 (+1 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2187

Broader Connections

• Navy lease-construction contracts structurally encouraged mafia involvement #corroborates (0.80)
• Anti-conformity movements reproduce the conformity they reject #complicates (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 728
• Long domination produces adjustment to rather than rebellion #complicates (0.72) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2121