Whether through the seductive myth of honourable outlaws, or the bloody truth of ruthless criminals, this shadowy group has generated a vast literature – these are its highlights
How does one write a book in such an unwieldy field? One problem - apart from the obvious unmanageability of swelling bibliographies – is that “mafiological” literature is still beset by its original dilemma: is the mafia the set of codes of honour and family values we are accustomed to see at a Mascagni opera? Or is it the brutal reality of a criminal association whose only goal is the parasitical accumulation of wealth? One possibility is to keep in mind the old saying of Giambattista Vico: “myths have a public basis in truth.” What truth, then, lies at the heart of the mafia myths that the cultural industry has so gladly dispensed upon us? What social needs, what desires and fears are satisfied by mafia myths?
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