What does the existance of Mafia indicate about society?

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That people are helpless in the face of organised corruption.

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It indicates that humans are tribal by nature, and that society (I almost said civilization) has evolved faster than we humans have. Wherever you have people who are disenfranchised -like every ghetto in the world- you will find gangs. I believe that people gather together in family-like groups. Sometimes these are positive & beneficial, such as small villages throughout the world, and kibbutsim in Israel, for example. In urban societies, where people feel threatened & overwhelmed, they band together in gangs, and these grow into Mafia-style organizations.
When you add crime & MONEY into the equation, the Mafia grows exponentionaly.

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It is telling that mafias tend to thrive in areas that have/had authoritarian types of government. Italy (Post Mussolini), Russia, China, etc. The Maffia in the US only did well in areas with high eastern European population where people were used to authoritarian rule. Thats why there wasn’t as much Mafia activity in the south.

People who are used to this type of rule are easily controlled and can may even feel insecure without it. (like a girl who had an abusive father finding a boyfriend who abuses them)
On the other hand a people who are used to a liberal government with lots of freedoms are a lot less likely to put up with that kind of activity.

So i would say the existence of a mafia in a society would indicate an authoritarian, hierarchical culture and probably a very right wing govt.