Crime is never something that will be fully tolerated in society, and with good reason. It is the exploitation of those unable to adequately protect themselves and unfairly benefits people with a skewed sense of morals and a willingness to get their hands dirty. In a “perfect” society, crime wouldn’t even be a construct, but seeing as we do not live in a utopia, crime and exploitation are just something we have to live with. 

Seeing as some form of crime is inevitable, we should seek to understand it in order to minimize its negative effects on society. Though not nearly as common in the U.S. as it once was, organized crime still resides in the U.S. and affects the lives of many people internationally, but how does it really change a community?

The crux of the argument in favor of organized crime over other crime comes down to the concept of responsibility. As a group grows in size and influence, a crime syndicate or cartel is effectively forced to accept some responsibility to care for themselves and others. Everyone needs food to eat, and eventually, it falls on the crime organization to provide it.

An easy way to envision this is through a theory named Dunbar’s Number. This is a basic guideline behind human relationships, and it boils down to the fact that once a group of people grows beyond roughly 150 members, it becomes difficult for the group to stay organized and retain meaningful connections with all the other members. Hence, a higher power, or something like a government, is required to keep a group that large working together successfully. After crossing the 150 people threshold, a group needs leadership to instill “best practices” and segment the tribe into smaller groups to keep tensions under control.

A system of rule with things like law and discipline comes from larger crime cartels. While their systems may be radically different from government, it is still a system of organization that people follow, which can be less destructive than a land of lawlessness in society. 

With ruling systems comes inherent predictability, which can be beneficial when the government is trying to plan around the presence of an underground society of lawbreakers. In theory, it is much much better for the government as they can treat crime like a singular entity that can be bargained with and accounted for much easier than a chaotic city underbelly. These criminal entities have even been helpful in the past. Their vaults of liquid funds even saved banks during the 2008 global recession.

While the gangs may require the people to pay “protection,” this could be more mutually beneficial than we usually suspect. It’s often the case in these areas that the actual government is incapable of providing services or safety for the people, so an offer of safety actually backed up by a group with influence can be worth paying for. The tribute could effectively be seen as paying taxes for law enforcement; the payment just goes to the mafia instead of the government. A showcase of this comes right from the pandemic – crime organizations worldwide have been offering resources to the needy during the COVID-19 crisis.

Furthermore, the crime syndicate may also provide consistent business for the people in the area through their operations and do things to help support their citizens. In order to stay safe and retain their “power,” establishing a relationship with local citizens is often a high priority. An example of this comes from Colombian cartel leader Pablo Escobar, who has been called a “Robin Hood” because he built schools, sports fields and housing developments.

In essence, organized crime is leagues more predictable than general crime, and due to their organization, they often become similar to governments themselves. This could be beneficial, as it means they can be controlled or planned around much easier than other crimes and build themselves a sort of “best practices.” In addition, these crime organizations often sprout from areas where the local government is unable to serve the citizens successfully and while not perfect, they can still provide for the people otherwise stranded by the rest of society.

Note: This piece was also published on 2/31 at theaggie.org and is available in both places with permission. Enjoy!