Mafia culture sustains itself through pervasive mutual distrust, not solidarity

Evidence

The corollaries of distrust - and indeed its self-reinforcing behavioural expressions of secrecy, duplicity, information intelligence (Franchetti 1974: 30), and betrayal — all feature prominently in the lives and careers of mafiosi. Today, as much as 100 years ago, the minds of mafiosi are constantly occupied by thoughts of risks and traps, populated by a threatening array of ‘traitors, spies and torturers’ (Arlacchi 1983: 151). As an old capo-mafia wrote to a young member: ‘I beg you to be careful, for the world is all infamous.’ Indeed, there is no one we can trust in this world. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2183

Categorization

• SEED: An essay angle on how criminal organizations run on organized distrust rather than loyalty—inverting the common moral-panic framing.