Organized Crime

I find the subject of organized crime fascinating.  The unwritten rules of conduct, the understanding of different norms and how to enforce their rules.  I'll admit an interest in Al Capone and the gangsters of old.  The thing that I never really thought of until now was states perceptions of the impermeability of their borders, yet organized crime's ability to slip through them like water through a sieve. 

We often have been referring to North Korea as the state that is most impermeable to things like the internet and Western influence, but I ask you - if their borders were impermeable, then no one would ever be able to leave, right?  And yet, there are tales of people saving money and paying others - people in organized crime - to smuggle them out.  It seems to me as if organized crime and their ability to operate across all borders is the great equalizer between states - looked at through this lens, no state is totally sovereign because no state can truly control 100% of the traffic on its borders - both of goods entering and goods leaving the country.

To me, the prevalence of organized crime brings into sharp focus the notion that money does indeed make the world go 'round.  Enough money can get you whatever you want if you have the right contacts... and even if you don't have the right contacts but you do have enough money and are fairly smart, you can buy your way into those contacts.  One thing that I continue to think about is that some organized criminal organizations began by selling their protection - that's how they used to run the unions in New York and Boston, that's how some Mexican organizations still operate by selling their protection to the corrupt politicians.  As in the Godfather, it's all about favors and money.  The more favors people owe you, the more power you have over them, the more money you have, the more power you can wield. 

Will states ever be able to get rid of organized crime?  Unlikely.  I know in class we often talk about the Federation from Star Trek, but I'm more of a Firefly kind of chick.  In that (sadly) short-lived show, there was the Alliance of the planets, but there was also plenty of smuggling and other organized criminal type activities.  Of course the big difference between those two universes... anyone... ideas... in Star Trek money was obsolete.  In Firefly money was still very much a thing.  As long as money and perceived power over others is around, we'll not be seeing a decrease in any organized crime - no matter how many gangsters or cartel members are captured.