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Wow! It's so involved and deep! Feels like I'm reading a technical manual on organized crime. Any idea why Italy is so susceptible to this compared to the res

Wow! It's so involved and deep! Feels like I'm reading a technical manual on organized crime. Any idea why Italy is so susceptible to this compared to the rest of Europe? Or is the Italian version just glamourized by the media more? Mexican cartels kind of make sense being the gate way for drugs from South America to the U.S. Does Italy serve a similar function for Europe maybe?

nickthemagicman 6y ago
Sorry it's come to my attention that I can come across sarcastic and snarky without meaning too. Just for clarity I was genuine in my previous comment. :)
qsort 6y ago
(not parent but also Italian) First of all, Italy is a profoundly divided country geographically, to the point where the North and the South are almost operating as if they were different countries. Specifically, there are regions with unemployment numbers that are almost unbelivable for a first-world country: https://www.statista.com/statistics/778264/unemployment-rate-in-italy-by-region/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/778264/unemployment-rate.... The "Southern Question" ("questione meridionale") is a recurrent theme in the political discourse and has been so literally since Italy has been a country. The lack of economic development in the South is also compounded by a very ineffective national welfare system, and, more generally, by an incredibly inefficient but very large public sector. This is a hotbed for organized criminal associations, who are always ready to prey on corrupt local officials and widespread discontent. Also bear in mind that the average Italian company is much smaller than the average American (or even German or French) company, which (aside from being in and of itself an economic problem) makes criminal schemes easier to set in motion, either directly or through corrupt politicians. Another major issue is that criminal organizations have deep ties with the political power itself, to the point where such ties are referred to as "a pact": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-Mafia_Pact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-Mafia_Pact As for the media issue, it's probably true that we know more about the Italian mafia due to its ties with American criminal organizations, but I don't feel one could say it's just media coverage, it's a massive problem, at least when compared with other European countries.

nickthemagicman 6y ago

Sorry it's come to my attention that I can come across sarcastic and snarky without meaning too. Just for clarity I was genuine in my previous comment. :)

qsort 6y ago

(not parent but also Italian) First of all, Italy is a profoundly divided country geographically, to the point where the North and the South are almost operating as if they were different countries. Specifically, there are regions with unemployment numbers that are almost unbelivable for a first-world country: https://www.statista.com/statistics/778264/unemployment-rate-in-italy-by-region/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/778264/unemployment-rate.... The "Southern Question" ("questione meridionale") is a recurrent theme in the political discourse and has been so literally since Italy has been a country. The lack of economic development in the South is also compounded by a very ineffective national welfare system, and, more generally, by an incredibly inefficient but very large public sector. This is a hotbed for organized criminal associations, who are always ready to prey on corrupt local officials and widespread discontent. Also bear in mind that the average Italian company is much smaller than the average American (or even German or French) company, which (aside from being in and of itself an economic problem) makes criminal schemes easier to set in motion, either directly or through corrupt politicians. Another major issue is that criminal organizations have deep ties with the political power itself, to the point where such ties are referred to as "a pact": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-Mafia_Pact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-Mafia_Pact As for the media issue, it's probably true that we know more about the Italian mafia due to its ties with American criminal organizations, but I don't feel one could say it's just media coverage, it's a massive problem, at least when compared with other European countries.