Mafia membership is a trading license allowing both purchase and sale of protection

Evidence

But the general impression derived from the sources is of a rather confused world, perturbed by anomalies, uncertain borders, incongruent circumstances, breached norms, and biased information. I have dealt at some length with this state of affairs and given a wide range of illustrations. Here it is worth repeating that the idea of membership subsumes roles which are analytically distinct. Typically, the status of an initiated member carries the possibility not just of consuming protection but of supplying it as well. It amounts to a special trading license. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 655

Categorization

• XREF: Membership as a ‘special trading license’ maps directly onto the reader’s core thesis about private protection markets and the Godfather’s role as intermediary — also parallels controlled entry to the Champagne Fairs substituting for direct credit checks. — connects to: The mafia can be understood as an industry selling private protection — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 10; A free market in quality can dissolve the demand for mafia protection; Territorial jurisdiction, not function, organizes mafia protection markets (+2 more)
• SEED: The ‘special trading license’ framing is a powerful lens for an essay on how membership/initiation in any industry functions as credentialed access to a reputation market — mafia membership as the pre-modern professional license.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 655

Broader Connections

• The mafia can be understood as an industry selling private protection #expands (0.93) — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 10
• A free market in quality can dissolve the demand for mafia protection #qualifies (0.75)
• Territorial jurisdiction, not function, organizes mafia protection markets #expands (0.72)
• Mafia sponsorship of saints functions as advertising for its protection firm #expands (0.72)