The literature’s conflicting definitions of mafiosi as middlemen, guards, and thugs defy synthesis.

Related

• Mafiosi can organize as well or as badly as ordinary economic actors (similarity 0.85)
• Mafiosi are defined by supplying protection, not by any particular profession (similarity 0.83)
• Mafiosi chose sides according to profit, not ideology or class loyalty (similarity 0.83)
• The mafia first appears in official records as an established force (similarity 0.82)
• A mafioso’s word functions as a guarantor that settles debts below face value (similarity 0.81)
• Mafiosi publicly attribute members to neutral territory to mask true affiliations (similarity 0.80)
• Entry into the mafia requires inherited skills or psychopathy plus no better options (similarity 0.80)
• Mafia violence exceeds what rational enforcement economics would require (similarity 0.80)
• Mafiosi violence serves as advertisement in zero-sum honor competition (similarity 0.80)
• Contractors join the mafia mainly out of a belief it is inevitable (similarity 0.79)
• Mafia families punish members who poach fellow members’ clients. (similarity 0.79)
• Mafia territory is jurisdiction-like but does not coincide with official boundaries (similarity 0.79)
• Mafia affiliation is tied to residence, not portable status or letters. (similarity 0.78)