Organized crime and American power

"Organized crime, understood in a literal sense as systematic illegal activity for money or power, is as old as the first systems of law and government and as international as trade. Piracy, banditry, kidnapping, extortion, forgery, fraud, and trading in stolen or illegal goods and services are all ancient occupations that have often involved the active participation of landowners, merchants, and government officials. Many people today, however, follow the lead of the U.S. government and American commentators and understand organized crime as being virtually synonymous with super-criminal 'Mafia-type' organizations. These are usually seen as separate entities, distinct from legitimate society but possessing almost unlimited regional, national, and even international power. In Organized Crime and American Power, Michael Woodiwiss argues that organized criminal activity has never been a serious threat to established economic and political power structures in the United States but rather is often a fluid, variable, and open-ended phenomenon that has, in fact, complemented those structures."--Jacket.

Year

2024

Language

English

Publisher

University of Toronto Press

Editions

2

ISBN

9781487543457

Data source: Wikidata